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'I will definitely have Rishabh Pant in my batting order'- Gautam Gambhir

image-l864xeelRishabh Pant (PC: Twitter)

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has picked Rishabh Pant as his choice for the wicketkeeper-batter role ahead of Dinesh Karthik for the upcoming T20I World Cup.

In a recent virtual press-conference conducted by Star Sports ahead of the India-Australia T20I series, the 2007 World Cup-winner was asked if the Men in Blue can slot in both Pant and DK in their starting XI.

Gambhir strongly disagreed as he reckoned that picking both Pant and Karthik in the playing XI will dilute India's bowling options.

When asked to pick one, Gambhir went with Pant, stating that Dinesh Karthik has never shown any interest in batting in the top-5.

Here's what Gautam Gambhir said:

"You can't do that. If you do that, you will miss out on a sixth bowler and you will not go into the World Cup with five bowlers. You need to have a backup. Unless you drop someone like Suryakumar Yadav, or KL Rahul has a bad tournament.. you can push Rishabh Pant to open the batting. Otherwise, I don't see both of these players in the middle-order,” as quoted by Hindustan Times.

“I will definitely have Rishabh Pant in my batting order. I don't believe in the notion that you need a left-hander in the middle-order. That's not the criteria, especially in a side like India." 

Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant? India's wicketkeeper conundrum ahead of the T20 WC

image-l864waydDinesh Karthik (PC: Twitter)

There has been a lot of debate over the selection of the first-choice keeper in the Indian T20I playing XI in recent months.

In the recent Asia Cup, Karthik was picked ahead of Pant for the group-stage game against Pakistan.

However, the paucity of a left-handed batting option in the top-5 coupled with an unfortunate injury to Ravindra Jadeja, brought Pant back into reckoning.

The 25-year-old replaced DK in the playing XI at the start of the Super-4 stage but the move didn't work as Pant once failed to live up to his billing.

With Karthik being a proven finisher and India also needing a southpaw in their top-5, it is a conundrum that the Indian management will look to solve during the next 6 T20Is against Australia and South Africa, starting September 20.

Also Read- R Sridhar hails Pant's wicketkeeping progress