Shastri on dropping Pant from ODI squad: “He needed a couple of weeks of break”

Shastri on dropping Pant from ODI squad: The Indian Coach has disclosed the rationale behind dropping Pant from ODI squad.

While India wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has been doing the rounds after scoring a game-changing second Test century at Sydney, there have also been a lot of questions regarding his omission from the ODI squad.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik, whom Pant had replaced, has made his way back into the squad after solid performances against Australia in the T20I series. Despite coming in to bat at No. 6 (contrary to Pant at No. 3 and 4), Karthik had displayed sparks of taking the responsibility at the big stage.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was vocal about the 21-year old southpaw, believing that he can change the game in even five overs.

 

After being dropped from the squad, Pant highlighted the selectors’ decision with his Sydney innings. It is worth mentioning that Pant has attained the best ever rank for an Indian wicket-keeper batsman.

In a recent interview with Boria Majumdar for India Today, India Head Coach Ravi Shastri’s reasons behind dropping Pant make sense and put forward a well-formed plan by the team management.

Shastri laid emphasis on Pant being on the road since June last year and said that he has been assigned a specific job ahead to play for India A. “We have asked him to go back because he played a lot of cricket. He has played non-stop cricket from the month of June. I think he needed a couple of weeks of break,” Shastri was quoted as saying.

The Indian coach also mentioned that the team management wants Pant to get into the habit of finishing games. “He will be playing for the India A team, where we have asked him to do a specific job to do – finish games. Get into the habit of finishing games. He will be right up there in the thick of things as he is as natural a talent that you can get,” Shastri concluded.