Rishabh Pant doesn’t have any health concerns. The wicketkeeper batter wasn’t at 100% fitness for the India cricket team’s last fixture against Pakistan. “Firstly, Rishabh is, I think, down with viral; that is why he did not come for practice,” Team India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill had told reporters on February 22. But he seems to be back at his best before the India vs New Zealand match on March 2.
Rishabh Pant hits the nets
Pant arrived with Team India at the ICC Academy in Dubai for the optional training/practice session. Although Pant isn’t the first-choice wicketkeeper KL Rahul is picked by captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir as the man behind the stumps.
However, since the India vs. New Zealand match is a dead rubber, with no bearing on the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal qualification, Pant could finally get to play his first match of the tournament. Gambhir likes to have a right-left combination in the middle, and that’s why he promotes Axar Patel over KL Rahul and even Hardik Pandya often.
Rishabh Pant to play in the India vs New Zealand match?
The third group stage game provides India the option to play with team combinations. They can test players who have been on the bench and give them the required game time. This would help in the knockout games (semifinal and final if India win). If God forbid, one player gets injured, a like-for-like replacement should be ready. Therefore, Pant has a good chance to play. If not for KL Rahul then maybe ahead of other in-form players who have scored runs.
India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
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