Rishabh Pant’s form has become a major point of worry for the Indian team management. Moreover, it has started to affect his keeping skills as well. So now, according to the sources, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri want Wriddhiman Saha to keep for the South Africa Test series.
The story
After accumulating 120 points in the beginning of the World Test Championship, India is looking for another good result against South Africa at home. The head coach and captain do not want to go wrong with this and currently, they are more interested in keeping Saha in the team for the Test series. A source was quoted by Times of India as saying, “The selectors are in a mood to give one final chance to Pant in the first Test, but the team management (Shastri and Kohli) wants Saha to play from the start of the series itself.”
Golden chance for Saha
Pant has two hundred and a batting average of 44.35 along with 53 dismissals in his limited Test exposure. Moreover, he is being criticized for his approach in limited-overs. But the source revealed, “The problem is, Pant’s lack of success with the bat is hurting his confidence while keeping wickets too. His DRS reviews aren’t great. In Indian conditions, on turning wickets, he may struggle. Saha is a far better keeper than him, and get a few useful runs lower down the order too.” Saha who hasn’t played a Test since January 2018 during the South Africa tour following an injury will try to make the best of this chance.
It looks like while Pant is going through a bad phase, Saha can get another golden chance to establish himself in the national side. The head coach and skipper already made comments about his shot selection flaw in public. With the 2020 T20 World Cup ahead in one year this needs to be resolved at the soonest.
