Rohit Sharma. | (Image Credits: X)
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma insists there are no form concerns with the bat about keeper-batter Rishabh Pant ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, given he has had a quiet start to the series. The 37-year-old stressed that Pant is coming off a good home season and has a formidable record in Australia; hence, judgements shouldn’t be quick.
The 27-year-old played a chief role in India’s last two series victory in Australia, headlined by an unbeaten 89 in the fourth Test in Brisbane in the 2020-21 leg. However, the southpaw has scores of 37, 1, 21, 28 and 9 thus far in the ongoing series.
“Nahin hai, aisa koi dabaav nahin hai. Abhi 3 Test matches hee unhone khelein hain yahan par. Recently acche form mein hain, India mein acche run banaaye hain, Australia mein unka record accha hai. So 2 ya 3 Test match upar neeche hone ke baad judge karna sahin nahin hai.”
(No pressure as such. Pant has played only three Tests so far. He has been in good form recently, scored runs in India and possesses a promising record in Australia. It doesn’t make sense to judge him based on inconsistent outings in 2 or 3 Tests.)
“It’s not a thing I should be discussing at every press conference” – Rohit Sharma on his batting position
Rohit, meanwhile, kept his cards closed about his batting position in the Boxing Day Test, having not found success by batting at number six. He stated, as quoted by Perth Now:
“Let’s not worry about that. I think who bats where is something that we need to figure out within ourselves. It’s not a thing I should be discussing at every press conference, where I’ll be batting. Whatever it takes for our team to look good or gives us the best chance to succeed, we’ll try and do that.”
