World Cup 2019: Why Rishabh Pant should be included in the playing XI against West Indies
India are riding a huge wave of momentum at the ICC World Cup 2019, and are still unbeaten in the tournament. They have played five matches so far and have won four of them, with the match against New Zealand being abandoned due to rain.
Unfortunately for India though, Shikhar Dhawan has had to leave the tournament after failing to recover from the thumb injury that he incurred while batting against Australia. Rishabh Pant has since been named as the replacement for injured Dhawan; Pant was included in the squad before the match against Afghanistan but was not included in the playing XI.
India will be playing against West Indies on June 27 at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester. This is a must-win game for Windies if they want to stay alive in the race to the semifinals. India, on the other hand, have all but secured their spot in the semis and need to win just two two of their remaining four matches to secure a top three spot.
That said, India narrowly escaped against Afghanistan, winning the match by just 11 runs. From the start of the match till the last few overs it looked like Afghanistan's game, but India's bowlers did an incredible job to restrict Afghanistan to 213 and keep the unbeaten streak intact.
The main concern to emerge for India after this match is the middle order. The batsmen after Virat Kohli failed miserably against Afghanistan, with only Kedar Jadhav doing a half-decent job.
The No. 4 slot has again started to haunt India. In the matches against Australia and Pakistan, Hardik Pandya came at two down because both times the top 3 batsmen performed brilliantly. Vijay Shankar came in at No. 4 against Afghanistan and lost his wicket when India needed him to bat long. He was also not able to bowl during the match due to a toe injury.
That makes it all the more advisable for India to give Pant a chance in the lineup ahead of Shankar for the match against West Indies. Pant is a versatile batsman as he can bat at number 4 and build an innings, and can also score quick runs whenever needed.
Pant can also bat lower down the order if Jadhav is promoted to No. 4, as suggested by various cricket experts. The diminutive left-hander would bring explosiveness to the Indian batting order and make the strategy more flexible, while also providing a substitute wicketkeeping option.
The match against West Indies is the best time to try out Pant in the lineup, as the subsequent matches are against tougher opposition which wouldn't allow for too much experimentation.
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