Suresh Raina believes that Rishabh Pant would play a significant part in the Champions Trophy.
According to former cricket player Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant should “play with more responsibility” when playing for the Men in Blue in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma announced the 15-man roster for the forthcoming Champions Trophy 2025 and ODI series against England at a news conference earlier on Saturday. After facing the West Indies in 2018, Pant made his ODI debut. Since then, he has amassed 871 runs at a strike rate of 106.21 in 31 50-over games. At a strike rate of 66.66, the 27-year-old scored just six runs in his final ODI match against Sri Lanka in 2024.
Suresh Raina stated in an exclusive interview with Star Sports Press Room that Pant’s wicket-keeping has really improved. The forthcoming white-ball series versus England will be an excellent opportunity to get better, he continued.
The former cricket player went on to say that Pant will play a crucial part in the team if young player Yashasvi Jaiswal is not included in the starting eleven.
Since this is a 50-over competition, Rishabh Pant needs to play with greater responsibility even though his wicket-keeping has significantly improved.
With five Twenty20 Internationals and three One Days in the forthcoming competition with England, Rishabh Pant will have a solid chance. Depending on your style of play, I believe Rishabh Pant will play a significant role if Yashasvi does not bat in the top order. He can bat at the fourth position and can also bat before Hardik because if he plays 40–50 deliveries, he can end the game,” Raina was quoted as saying in a Star Sports release.
Pant needs to spend some time on the crease, Raina continued. “It will cost a lot if the wicketkeeper-batter makes a mistake,” the 38-year-old said in closing.He needs to remind himself that he can score 80–100 runs if he plays 50 deliveries, but that he needs to take some time. He has the talent and ability to be the X factor for the Indian squad, so if he makes a mistake, it will cost them dearly,” he continued.
The ICC Champions Trophy, which will take place from February 19 to March 9, is the most recent test that Team India faces. Pakistan and the UAE will host it, and India will use a hybrid format to play its matches in the UAE.
The eight-team competition will be place in Dubai and around Pakistan, with 15 fifty-over matches.On February 23, the tournament’s most important encounter between bitter rivals India and Pakistan will take place. On February 20, India will launch their campaign against Bangladesh. On March 2, India will play their final league game against New Zealand. The team captained by Rohit Sharma will play all of their games in Dubai.
India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.
