Should Rishabh Pant play ahead of Dinesh Karthik in India's first Test against England?
India head into the Test series against England without their first choice wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha. That, of course, is a huge blow but the visitors still have two quality keepers in their squad for the highly-anticipated five-match series.
While Dinesh Karthik will be India's first-choice stumper, Virat Kohli's and Co will be confident in the abilities of young Rishabh Pant too. The Delhi lad pipped Parthiv Patel to come closer to a Test debut, and his back-to-back fifties in India A's just-concluded unofficial Test against England Lions shows he's ready for top-class red-ball cricket.
Here's a glimpse of Rishabh's efforts against England Lions
India A batsmen's vulnerability against the red ball in foreign conditions was exposed as England Lions handed the visitors a 254-run defeat in the one-off Unofficial Test on day four in Worcester on Thursday.
India A, who were reeling at 11 for three at stumps on day three while chasing an improbable 421-run target, did not put up much of a fight even in the second innings, folding up for 167 in 44 overs. They had struggled to 197 all out in 66.5 overs in the first essay after Lions made 423.
The sole silver lining for India A was that Ajinkya Rahane and rookie Risabh Pant got to spend some valuable time in the middle ahead of the five-Test series against England, beginning in Birmingham on August 1.
Pant, who has earned his maiden Test call-up, struck a second successive half-century century to give the Indian team management a selection headache ahead of the first match. India have picked two specialist wicket-keepers in the 18-man squad, including Pant and Karthik, who is more likely to feature in the series opener.
The A game served as warm-up game for the likes of India vice-captain Rahane, opener Murali Vijay, Karun Nair and Pant, who are all part of the Test squad announced yesterday.
Pant made a mark against a potent pace attack comprising four Test players, with a 58 and 61, while Rahane too got to spend some time at the crease, having scored 49 and 48 in the two innings. Nair and Vijay, however, failed in both the innings.
Only a miracle could have saved India A, but that did not happen, as the batting let the team down for the second time in the match.
The writing was on the wall when India A reached 115 for six at lunch. The innings did not last long following the break and the moment Pant perished after a quickfire knock, it was all over for India A.
India A had beaten West Indies A in the preceding two-match series but playing England Lions in their own den turned out to be an eye-opener for the Rahul Dravid-coached side.
(Inputs from PTI)
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