IND v AUS 2020: 'Rishabh Pant is like Adam Gilchrist at No. 7' - Former players pick India’s wicketkeeper for the Tests [Exclusive]
Both Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha did well in the tour games, and the Indian team management is suffering from a wicketkeeper conundrum. The debate is raging even a day before the opening game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which commences on December 17 with a pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Saha saved India's blushes in the first warm-up game with a gritty 54* in the second innings, and Pant lit up the pink-ball practice match last week with a whirlwind 103* off 73 deliveries. Both Indian captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri have remained tight-lipped about who will be their first-choice wicketkeeper.
Former India wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya threw light on the fact that Rishabh Pant is the better batsman while Wriddhiman Saha is the better gloveman among the two. Dahiya emphasised that the team management will take a call depending on the combination they want for the opening Test.
Dahiya, who is the head talent scout of the Delhi Capitals, admitted that pink-ball cricket poses more challenges to batters during the twilight period. He opined that India might be tempted to field Wriddhiman Saha as the seventh batsman.
“It’s very, very important to look at the team combination. There is a possibility that you might go with seven batsmen and four bowlers. Because [in] pink-ball cricket, what happens is that it’s more challenging for the batters at times. So maybe you want to go with that mindset and let’s not forget that it’s the first Test match of the series as well,” Vijay Dahiya told Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview.
Notably, Virat Kohli will be coming back to India after the Adelaide Test to attend the birth of his first child, and David Warner is sidelined with a groin injury. Dahiya added that India would want to capitalise on Kohli’s availability and Warner’s unavailability in the first Test and start on a winning note.
“But there are other things at stake [as well]. Virat won’t be playing any more Test matches after this. So there is the possibility that India will go out with an all-out mindset and have five specialist bowlers. So if we go with five specialist bowlers, I feel Pant [will be] playing then. And if we go with six batters, then Saha at number 7 and four bowlers,” Dahiya, who played 2 Tests and 19 ODIs, reasoned.
While Test cricket is all about temperament and patience, there are times lower-middle order batsmen need to turn a tricky corner and accelerate.
Former India stumper Kiran More compared Rishabh Pant to Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, and said the 23-year-old is likely to feature in the Test series owing to his phenomenal record Down Under and the ability to up the ante at will.
“I think he (Rishabh Pant) has a fair chance. If you look at batting depth, I will go with Rishabh because when we are looking at the second new ball when Rishabh walks in, he is the most dangerous player once he gets going. It’s like Adam Gilchrist batting at number seven,” More, who served as the chief national selector from 2002 to 2006, exclusively told Sportskeeda.
Pitches in Australia are not like the ones in India, says Kiran More
Kiran More pointed out that pitches Down Under are not as lively as the ones in the Indian subcontinent. As a result, he believes that Rishabh Pant is more likely to feature in the XI, especially having scored 350 runs at an average of 58.33 on the 2018-19 tour.
“It’s not difficult to keep wickets in Australia. When you look at the overall wicketkeeping in Australia, ball comes nicely to you, there is good bounce. Only the last one or two days is when the ball bounces and turns. That’s what I am thinking about. So that becomes very comfortable. It’s not like in India [and] subcontinent the ball keeps low or up and down. So I think Rishabh has a fair chance,” More, who played 49 Tests and 94 ODIs, stated.
Vijay Dahiya also echoed a similar sentiment and said Rishabh Pant will not have a tough time behind the sticks since Australian soil and the pink ball don’t aid much spin.
“Normally when we talk about pink-ball cricket, you don’t get turning wickets...you don’t have that much of a Sun in the first session, and you don’t get dry wickets and all those things. And looking at Australian team combination as well, they are not going to give you a turning wicket,” Dahiya explained.
The four-match Test series begins with a pink-ball game at the Adelaide Oval on December 17. India’s second-ever pink-ball Test will be followed by day games in Melbourne (Dec 26-30), Sydney (Jan 7-11) and Brisbane (Jan 15-19).