Team India skipper Rohit Sharma insists there are no form concerns with the bat about keeper-batter Rishabh Pant ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, given he has had a quiet start to the series. The 37-year-old stressed that Pant is coming off a good home season and has a formidable record in Australia; hence, judgements shouldn’t be quick.
The 27-year-old played a chief role in India’s last two series victory in Australia, headlined by an unbeaten 89 in the fourth Test in Brisbane in the 2020-21 leg. However, the southpaw has scores of 37, 1, 21, 28 and 9 thus far in the ongoing series.
Rohit sharma talk about Rishabh pant’s batting performance #RohitSharma #INDvsAUS #ViratKohli #BoxingDayTest pic.twitter.com/wohvF1r65b
— (@souravsekh33992) December 24, 2024
“Nahin hai, aisa koi dabaav nahin hai. Abhi 3 Test matches hee unhone khelein hain yahan par. Recently acche form mein hain, India mein acche run banaaye hain, Australia mein unka record accha hai. So 2 ya 3 Test match upar neeche hone ke baad judge karna sahin nahin hai.”
(No pressure as such. Pant has played only three Tests so far. He has been in good form recently, scored runs in India and possesses a promising record in Australia. It doesn’t make sense to judge him based on inconsistent outings in 2 or 3 Tests.)
