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Amid sentiments within the establishment that he was pushed out of the ODI team without getting much of an opportunity, Rishabh Pant could get a look-in for the second wicketkeeper’s slot after KL Rahul in the upcoming India-West Indies ODI series, BCCI sources told CricBlogger. With Ishan Kishan representing India at the Asian Games, Dhruva Jurel is another option in front of the selectors. But Pant is ahead in the race, partly because of his seniority and his batting exploits in the past.
“It’s really between these two. Pant is definitely ahead at the moment, but that’s not to take anything away from Jurel,” the source said.
With front-liners like Shreyas Iyer also missing from the line-up due to Asian Games duty, Pant could also be used as a batter — something the Indian team did not do in the past, instead opting to include Ruturaj Gaikwad in the playing XI. There had been pleas from the selectors in the past to play Pant as a batter in the presence of KL Rahul, but then India coach Gautam Gambhir overlooked them.
Sources said that Gambhir holds Jurel in high regard and has often pushed for him to be used as a batter in Test cricket. Whether he will do the same in ODIs remains to be seen. But the sentiment within the establishment is that Gambhir shouldn’t — and perhaps can’t — make it so obvious by blocking Pant from being part of the white-ball team.
