ICC World Cup 2019 | Selectors, management differ over Rishabh Pant’s status as replacement or cover
As per reports, the selectors wanted to name Rishabh Pant as the replacement for Shikhar Dhawan but the team management decided against it as they needed time to assess the injured batsman. The centurion Dhawan had injured his thumb during India’s encounter against Australia on Sunday at The Oval.
Shikhar Dhawan had injured his thumb in the encounter between India and Australia. The injury had ruled him out for three weeks, during which India will play their next five league stage games.
Rishabh Pant, who was named among the standbys for the World Cup, was announced as the cover for the injured batsman. However, it is now reported by PTI that the three selectors, Chairman MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh were keen on naming him as the replacement but the team management did not agree.
On the eve of the encounter against New Zealand, batting coach Sanjay Bangar had termed Dhawan as so “precious” that captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri are willing to wait despite the fact that the opener is expected to gain fitness only for the last league game against Sri Lanka on July 6.
“(Selectors wanted to name Pant as the replacement) But the team management seemed against the idea as a replacement would have meant that Dhawan would practically have no chance of making it if India goes into the semi-finals. Look at his hands. It’s plastered and things are not great,” said a BCCI official, on condition of anonymity.
Regarding Pant, who will fly from Delhi to Manchester today, a consensus arrived that the 21-year-old be named as a cover in case Dhawan fails to recover. Bangar had confirmed that KL Rahul will open against New Zealand while Pant is being looked as a middle-order option.
“He (Pant) bats in the middle-order, and obviously being a left-hander (also) helps. He was named in the stand-by as well. So the team management has gone and picked him for the order,” said the 46-year-old.