The Test cricket excitement is coming back to India. In September, Team India is all set to face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series. Before that, some of the Indian players are all set to take part in the Duleep Trophy. India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is all set to play the tournament under Abhimanyu Easwaran’s captaincy. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra questioned this captaincy selection as Pant truly excels and performs best.
Aakash Chopra on Captaincy Role:
Team India is all set to face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series in September. Before that, players like KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Siraj, and many other players are all set to take part in this tournament. Divided into four teams, the players are set to lock horns in the tournament.
Rishabh Pant has been named in group B and is set to play under Abhimanyu Easwaran’s captaincy. Pant not being the captain and playing under Easwaran is surprising. BCCI chairman Ajit Agarkar’s decision not to make Pant captain raises questions. Aakash Chopra’s question is relevant because Pant excels in Test cricket and performs at his best in this format.
Aakash Chopra said, “Rishabh Pant is not a captain. He has been selected in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s team. He is playing under Abhimanyu Easwaran’s captaincy, which is absolutely okay. However, is Rishabh Pant not even a candidate for Test captaincy? I am a little surprised.”
Later he added, “I am not aligned with this personally because the best avatar of Rishabh Pant you have seen is as a Test cricketer. He is the only wicketkeeper in the history of Indian cricket who has scored centuries in South Africa, England, and Australia in Test matches.”
Aakash Chopra on Gambhir’s Role in Pant’s Career:
Rishabh Pant is a key wicketkeeper-batter for India in Test cricket, with strong performances in SENA countries. Aakash Chopra wonders about Pant’s role under the new head coach Gautam Gambhir. He believes that no one, including himself, can accurately predict the management’s plans for Pant at this point.
The former Indian batter said, “Who else has done that? No one has. The way he plays in Test cricket and scores runs consistently, personally, in my opinion, he was a captaincy candidate. However, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer and even Abhimanyu Easwaran are captains but Pant is not a captain, and that is a huge takeaway in my opinion.”
Later he added, “A new era has started. So I will be very curious to know what Gautam’s opinion is with regards to Rishabh Pant the captain. When the ODIs started (against Sri Lanka), he didn’t play the first two matches, KL Rahul was playing, but Pant came in the last match.”
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