"There's very little to choose" - Former India captain on the KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant debate in 2025 Champions Trophy
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that there is very little to choose between keeper-batters KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. He, however, opined that the team management has backed Rahul ahead of Pant given his fantastic ODI stats.
India beat Bangladesh by six wickets in their opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai on Thursday, February 20. Bowling first, the Men in Blue held Bangladesh to 228 and then chased down the total in 46.3 overs. Like in the ODIs against England, Rahul was again preferred over Pant. He contributed an unbeaten 41 off 47 balls and was also sharp with the gloves in hand.
Despite Rahul's impressive performance with bat and behind the stumps in ODIs, some fans and experts still reckon that India are making a mistake by leaving Pant out of the playing XI. Sharing his thoughts on the big debate, Ganguly stated (as quoted by news agency PTI):
"India are such a strong side, especially in batting. Pant is very good. But Rahul has fantastic numbers in ODIs. So, I think that's the reason Gautam Gambhir has backed Rahul. There's very little to choose between them (Rahul and Pant) because both are exceptional."
In Pant's unavailability for the 2023 World Cup due to his car accident, India backed Rahul as their frontline keeper-batter. The Karnataka cricketer had an impressive campaign and has retained the role even with Pant making a comeback to the ODI format.
"He just needs to stay fit" - Ganguly on Shami's brilliance in India's 2025 Champions Trophy opener
Experienced pacer Mohammed Shami, who recently made a comeback from injury, impressed in India's six-wicket win over Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Praising the Bengal pacer, Ganguly stated that he is not far behind Jasprit Bumrah in terms of skills, but added that the fast bowler needs to maintain his fitness levels. He said:
"I had said that Bumrah needs Shami, and Shami needs Bumrah. Unfortunately, Bumrah is not fit for this tournament. Shami is, and I'm not surprised by his five wickets against Bangladesh. He will continue to lead the attack throughout the tournament. Obviously, Bumrah is the best bowler in the world at the moment, but Shami is not too far behind.
"The only thing is, he just needs to stay fit throughout the tournament and shoulder the responsibility," the former India captain added.
Shami claimed 5-53 in his 10 overs against Bangladesh, picking up his sixth five-wicket haul in the one-day format. In the same match, the right-arm pacer also became the fastest bowler to reach 200 wickets in terms of balls bowled.