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Shastri’s Pant logic rejected as unlikely Nitish Reddy fix offered to Gambhir; '4th Test Karun Nair’s last chance’
Former cricketers Aakash Chopra and Irfan Pathan rejected the Ravi Shastri's logic, while offering an alternative to head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri reckoned that the team management should rather rest Rishabh Pant, who suffered an injury during the Lord's Test, and not risk playing him as a specialist batter in the must-win Manchester game. However, former cricketers Aakash Chopra and Irfan Pathan rejected the logic, while offering an alternative to head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Pant had injured his finger during England's first innings in the third Test, after which Dhruv Jurel replaced him as the wicketkeeper. The vice-captain had, however, returned to bat in both innings.
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Despite India being in must-win territory after the heartbreaking loss in London, Shastri felt the tourists should rest Pant and keep him fresh for the series finale at The Oval, starting July 31. However, Akash, speaking on his YouTube channel, noted that Pant has been India's best run-getter thus far in the series, and that he showed at Lord's that he can bat despite the injury. Hence, he urged India to retain Pant as a specialist batter, and play Jurel as a batter in place of injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour.
"Ravi bhai said that if he is injured, don't play him. He felt that Pant should not play as a specialist batter; rather, they should rest him and bring him back for the Oval Test. But I felt, there are only four batters who scored runs - Jaiswal, Rahul, Gill and Pant. So he should be there, because he scored runs at Lord's despite the injury. But if he is unfit to take up the keeping role, play him as a batter. And I'm thinking Dhruv Jurel at 6, because there are no alternatives. All other back-up options - Sudharsan and Easwaran - are both top-order players. When he came with the India A squad before this series, and played against England Lions, he did score runs and made his case," he said.
Irfan, speaking on his YouTube channel, agreed with the logic of playing Pant as a specialist batter, although he asked Jurel to be mindful as a keeper after his uimpressive show with the gloves in the third Test.
“Nitish got injured, and now India doesn't have a bowling batter. Shardul Thakur is a bowler who can bat. So you can't replace Nitish, who actually performed well at Lord's, and that is where it becomes an issue for the captain. Then there is the problem with Pant's injury. But I am in favour of playing Pant as a batter. And you have Jurel as a keeper. He loves to bat, we all saw that, but when it comes to keeping, he has to focus on the leg-side deliveries. He had conceded a lot of byes on that side,” he added.
One last chance for Karun Nair?
Akash reckoned that the Manchester Test, which will begin on July 23, might be Nair's last shot at redemption. He admitted that while the veteran batter has not looked out of sorts, but said that he hasn't quite lived up to the expectations after the heap of runs he scored in domestic cricket, which had earned him the call-up after eight years.
“Karun Nair hasn't looked completely out of sorts, or didn't look like he did not belong in this place, but he also did not score runs to cement his spot in the XI. He hasn't quite grabbed his chance with both hands, yet he batted well, and took a few good catches as well. I am still tempted to play him at No. 3. Play him one more, but not one less. It might be his last chance. Cricket has given him a chance, but this will be his last,” he said.
Irfan, however, called for Sai Sudharsan to replace Nair, but purely because he is a left-handed batter.
