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Rishabh Pant drops big hint on KL Rahul's replacement as opener for first India vs South Africa T20I
As the selectors did not name a replacement for Rahul, the only designated openers in the Indian squad currently are Gaikwad and Kishan as Venkatesh Iyer has never opened for India and he is considered a finisher at this level.
India's captain for the South Africa T20Is Rishabh Pant dropped a big hint on the openers for the first T20I scheduled to start in New Delhi on June 9. Pant hinted that Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to replace the injured KL Rahul at the top of the order and partner Ishan Kishan in the series opener on Thursday. Pant got to know that he will get to lead India for the first time on Wednesday evening when it was confirmed that the designated stand-in captain for the series, KL Rahul, was ruled out due to a right groin injury.
India vs South Africa Live Score 1st T20I
"I think there would not be many changes in the batting order as KL would have opened. There will be one change for sure, we do not have many openers... You guys can guess. We will discuss the team after some time," Pant said on the eve of the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
As the selectors did not name a replacement for Rahul, the only designated openers in the Indian squad currently are Gaikwad and Kishan as Venkatesh Iyer has never opened for India and he is considered a finisher at this level.
Gaikwad did not have a great IPL with the Chennai Super Kings but the Maharashtra right-hander has been knocking on the doors for quite some time now.
"It’s a very good feeling although it didn’t come in good circumstances. The news just came in for me as well an hour back so I’m also processing it. I haven’t even digested the information yet. It is a great feeling getting this opportunity, especially in my hometown,” the Delhi cricketer said.
Pant has led the IPL side Delhi Capitals for two seasons. In the just-concluded edition of the league, Pant experimented with his batting position.
Asked if he will continue shuffling his batting order, he said, “My batting order will depend on the conditions. In these conditions, we can't have a floating batting line because we play spinners day in and day out.
“But if we need a floating batting line up we will have it,“ he added.
“As a captain, it will help me a lot. When you keep doing the same things over a period of time you tend to improve and keep learning from it and I think that will help me."The 24-year-old feels the DC captaincy stint in the IPL will help him in the series against South Africa.
“Captaining DC will help me a lot. I'm someone who learns from mistakes."
