‘Rishabh can play up the order but…’: Coach chalks out batting slot where Team India can 'utilise Pant more precisely'

Rishabh Pant walked to open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma in the second ODI.

India tried three different opening combinations in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies, which saw star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant trying his hands in that slot. Pant walked to open the innings with captain Rohit Sharma in the second ODI, a move that failed to make any impact. He was later shifted to the fifth position in the following clash as Shikhar Dhawan was back in the mix after recovering from Covid-19.

India's Rishabh Pant bats during the second one day international cricket match between India and West Indies in Ahmedabad, India, Wednesday. (AP)

Now as the action shifts to T20Is, team batting coach Vikram Rathour said the hosts are yet to decide if they will be tinkering with their batting order.

"We haven't really decided that yet, we still have a couple of days to go. We had a travel day and rest day, so today we have our first practice day, once we get to look at the wicket and the kind of surface we are playing, we'll then see, we have options available, KL is out I understand, we have Ishan and Ruturaj in the mix, so we will see," Rathour was quoted as saying by ANI on Monday.

The coach also stated that Pant is more suited in the middle or lower-middle order.

"Rishabh is a fantastic player, he can play good cricket up the order but it depends what the team needs and what we are looking at, but we can utilise him more precisely in the middle order or lower order," he added.

India and West Indies will lock horns in three T20Is, beginning Wednesday at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.