Being Rishabh Pant is a tough job after MS Dhoni has left a big shoe to fill. The Delhi batsman is known for his aggressive style of play but it has not paid dividends in International cricket. The 21-year-old has thrown away his wicket on many occasions which has drawn criticism. However, one can understand that people are expecting something like MS Dhoni from him which is exerting more pressure on him, resulting in his poor run of form.
India will play the third and final T20 against South Africa on Sunday which may be the last chance for Pant to create some magic. We take a look at three probable contenders who can replace Rishabh Pant in the team.
4- Wriddhiman Saha
The test specialist is fighting for his place in the longer version of the game after recovering from the shoulder injury. If Rishabh Pant continues to fail then the selectors may switch to Saha across all three formats of the game. The Siliguri born is possibly the best wicket keeper in the country at the moment but he may have to uplift his batting standard to be in selectors radar.
3- Sanju Samson
The Kerala batsman made his India debut way back in 2015 against Zimbabwe but his inconsistent run didn’t impress the selectors. The 24-year-old has enjoyed a prolific run in the IPL and his 48 ball 91 against South Africa A in unofficial ODI caught the eyes of the selectors.
Gautam Gambhir has been a huge supporter of him and feels that he deserves a place in the team. The former India batsman earlier termed him as an ideal batsman to solve India’s number four conundrum at the World Cup.
2- Ishan Kishan
The Patna born Jharkhand bound cricketer has been a consistent performer for his domestic team and India A. He rose to prominence after leading India U19 team at 2016 World cup and current stint with Mumbai Indians has helped him become a better player.
Kishan brings the firepower in his batting and can also adopt to tough situation.
1- KL Rahul
The Karnataka lad has kept the wickets for India in a test against Sri Lanka and his IPL side Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is not a specialist keeper but can do the job. Rahul impressed in India’s warm up games at the World Cup which sort of solved India’s number four conundrum but the injury to Shikhar Dhawan meant that he opened the batting alongside Rohit Sharma.
The 27-year-old can take the number four slot and bring more experience to the side.
