Sunil Gavaskar has shared his opinion on Rishabh Pant opening the batting with Rohit Sharma in the second ODI against West Indies. India won the game by 44 runs as their bowlers defended the total of 237/9 posted by their batsmen. Rohit Sharma registered his first series win as Team India defended 238 runs courtesy of some prolific bowling from 25-year-old pacer Prasidh Krishna, who registered his best ODI bowling figures, 4/12.
Winning the toss, stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran, opted to field first. Team India captain Rohit Sharma was accompanied by Rishabh Pant, which surprised many. The experiment did not really work as both were sent back to the pavilion inside 12 overs. While Rohit Sharma scored 5, Rishabh Pant scored 34-ball 18. Despite the return of KL Rahul, India opted to make him bat at No. 4 and open with Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma instead.
Sunil Gavaskar Reckons Rishabh Pant Opening For His Side Would Be The Last Option
The experiment, however, didn’t work as Rishabh Pant was dismissed for 18 off 34 balls. Notably, it was the first time the wicketkeeper-batter had opened for the senior men’s in ODIs. Earlier, Rishabh Pant had opened the innings 11 times for India in U19 ODIs.
Sunil Gavaskar also backed opener Ruturaj Gaikwad to be promoted as an opener after he recovers from Covid-19. He along with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer contracted the Covid-19 virus ahead of the first ODI against West Indies.
The experiment did not go well legendary India ex-skipper and batsman Sunil Gavaskar as well, who said this should be Team India’s last option.
“I would keep that as a last option maybe. My choice would be either a (KL) Rahul or a Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order. Or if you want a left-hander at the top of the order, I would go back to an Ishan Kishan,” he said during mid-innings show.
Sunil Gavaskar reckons that with Rishabh Pant opening, it keeps the finisher’s slot vacant. With Hardik Pandya still undergoing rehabilitation, and Ravindra Jadeja yet to entirely recover from the shoulder injury he sustained in November, Rishabh Pant could have taken up that role.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant opened the innings 11 times for India in U19 ODIs between 2015 and 2016, scoring 454 runs at 41.27 with one century and four fifties. Six of them were during the U19 World Cup in 2016 where he scored 267 runs at 44.50 with one hundred and two fifties.
Sunil avaskar : India Spoilt For Openers
The former India captain also cited Ruturaj Gaikwad as an opening option once he recovers from COVID-19.
“But again, India are spoilt for riches as far as opening batting is concerned because there is Ruturaj Gaikwad as well, who is not fit because of Covid sadly. He is somebody who can contribute at the top of the order, looking at the kind of form we have seen from him for the last couple of seasons of IPL,” Gavaskar added.
Coming back to the match, India on Wednesday comprehensively defeated the West Indies by 44 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing 3-match series. Riding on Suryakumar Yadav’s highest ODI score(64), and commendable bowling performances from pacers Prasidh Krishna (4/12) and Shardul Thakur (2/41) to beat the visitors. India had won the first ODI by six wickets and now the third game will be played on February 11