The upcoming series against Australia will be India’s last chance of trying out different combinations and players keeping the 2019 Cricket World Cup in mind. It is going to be a two-match T20I and five-match ODI series.
A while back, Shane Warne advocated for opening the batting with Rishabh Pant in the ODIs against Australia. Now, Indian legendary cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar has also backed Pant to open the batting for Men in Blue.
“Yes, why not. If you open with Rishabh Pant, it opens up a third option for you as well. If he does well at the top, he is someone who can also be played in the middle order,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“I can’t see why Rishabh Pant can’t play as a batsman. He is outstanding. Maybe even open the batting with Rohit Sharma. I know Shikhar Dhawan does a great job but Rishabh Pant opening the batting with Rohit Sharma could be pretty cool too for India. Go with some of these X-factor type things and tactical battles where you surprise the opposition,” he added.
Rishabh Pant has scored 696 runs in nine Test matches at an average of 49.71, and he is the only Indian wicket-keeper batsman to score Test centuries in England and Australia respectively.