Saba Karim thinks Rishabh Pant has been the most important contributor behind India qualifying for the World Test Championship final. In an India New programme, he pointed out the reasons behind such belief.
Karim on Pant
During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim, former India player explained why he believes Pant to be the most significant contributor behind India’s entry to the first World Test Championship final. has made the most significant contributions in India reaching this far and expected the youngster to play a similar role in the title-decider against New Zealand. “I feel the World Test Championship final that is going to happen and after that the five Test matches in England, Rishabh Pant will have to play a huge role in that. We should not forget that Rishabh Pant has played a huge role in India reaching the World Test Championship final. If you ask me, I will say that in the entire Indian Test team, Rishabh Pant has had the biggest role in India reaching this stage, both as a batsman and with the wicketkeeping gloves,” said Karim.
He continued, “Since the time Rishabh Pant has made his entry in the Indian Test team, the combination has become very good. Only because of Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli goes into the ground with five bowlers. He knows that he has a reliable batsman like Rishabh Pant, who can come at No.6, bat at a fast pace and play match-winning knocks,” observed Karim.
Pant’s contributions
Rishabh Pant helped India draw the Sydney Test against Australia with his 97-run knock. The Gabba Test saw him scoring an unbeaten 89 in the fourth innings that helped India claim the win in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He continued his good form against England as well. He smashed a 100 in the final Test of the home series against England which eventually helped India to secure a WCT final seat.
Reetinder Sodhi also agreed with Saba Karim in the programme. He added, “The patience, temperament and shot selection he (Pant) has shown, he can change the match on his day, which we saw in Australia. His wicket-keeping used to be criticized often but he has shown improvement there as well. He is a world-class player and his performance can play a pivotal role in the final.”
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