Champions Trophy 2025: In 31 ODIs until now, Rishabh Pant has solely scored 871 runs at a median of 33.50.
It was just a week back that Team India coach Gautam Gambhir had made it clear, that it will be KL Rahul, who will be the preferred choice in the Champions Trophy, while Rishabh Pant will have to wait for his turn. But now, as per a report in Cricblogger, it has emerged that chief selector Ajit Agarkar wants the latter in the playing XI.
Who in Playing XI – Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul?
After the conclusion of the IND vs ENG ODI series, Gambhir had said, “KL is our No 1 wicketkeeper, and this is what I can say at the moment. Rishabh Pant will get his chance, but at the moment, it is KL who has done well, and we cannot play two wicketkeeper-batters.”
The report states that Agarkar has spoken with Gambhir about the same, and even asked Rishabh Pant to stay ready. Having said that, the team management isn’t sure, as to where to include the keeper-batter in the XI. And KL Rahul’s record in white-ball cricket, as it is, is much superior.
Ajit Agarkar & Gautam Gambhir Have Tough Choice to Make
“How the team management is going to accommodate Pant is a million dollar question?” a source told CricBlogger. “Pant is a match-winner, it will be a grave mistake to keep him away from the playing XI,” the source said.
On Sunday, during a practice session, Pant was hit by a nasty shot by Hardik Pandya, on the knee, and limped off from there. But then, much to the joy of the fans, the southpaw returned to training the next day, and focused on his batting drills, skipping fielding practice.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.
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