Harbhajan Singh on Rishabh Pant: “He is a must in the Indian team”

Dixit Bhargav | 13/01/2019
Harbhajan Singh on Rishabh Pant

Harbhajan Singh on Rishabh Pant: The Indian off-spinner called for the rookie wicket-keeper to play for India in ODIs.

Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has demanded for the selectors to include wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant in the ODI squad. Harbhajan isn’t the first cricketer to express such an opinion for the 21-year old cricketer.

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Earlier, former India captain Sourav Ganguly had opined on similar lines saying that Pant can change the game in five overs. With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 coming up, whether India will make such a change remains the big question.

The 38-year old cricketer threw accolades on Pant for his X-factor and even compared him to former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist.

“Rishabh Pant has that X-factor in him, which Adam Gilchrist had. He has the potential to hit six sixes…I am not talking about six sixes in an over but if he plays 30 balls he has the ability to hit at least six sixes, which can be game-changing,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying on India Today.

He went on to say that Pant’s inclusion might fix India’s middle-order issues. “I think Rishabh Pant is a must in the Indian team because if we lose three early wickets, we need to have a power-hitter lower down the order. I think his inclusion will not only strengthen India’s batting line-up but also fix the middle-order issues,” he said.

In the recently concluded Test series against Australia, Pant scored his second Test century at Sydney. Having scored the first one at The Oval, Pant became only the second visiting wicket-keeper batsman (after Jeff Dujon) to score a Test century in England and Australia.

ALSO READ: Ravi Shastri discloses the reasons behind dropping Rishabh Pant from the ODI team.

Finishing the series as its second-highest run-scorer (above India captain Virat Kohli), Pant pressed his case for being included into the ODI side. It will be interesting to see if the selectors will include him for the upcoming home series against Australia.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Harbhajan Singh rishabh pant

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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