Rohit Sharma Explains Rishabh Pant's Role in Champions Trophy Despite Being Benched

1 month ago | 5 Views

Rishabh Pant is definitely one of the standout names on the Indian bench for the current Champions Trophy. KL Rahul's impressive performance in the lower middle order for ODIs, along with his reliable wicketkeeping, has pushed Pant to the sidelines in the 50-over format, even though he’s a key player in Test matches. India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, has shared some insights about Pant's role in the team for this tournament.

Even though the tournament is officially hosted in Pakistan, India is playing all their matches in Dubai. Rohit mentioned that they designed the larger squad to adapt to the conditions they might face. “A lot of cricket has been played here in Dubai recently,” Rohit said during a press conference before India's semi-final against Australia.

“We had a feeling the pitches would be slow. We were keeping an eye on the ILT20 games played here. We figured that slower bowlers would be more effective. Plus, we have a solid batter ready to step in if needed. Rishabh is there for us. So, with the option of adding spin, we thought it made sense to have those guys available. That was pretty much our thought process,” Rohit explained.

Rohit claims that India doesn't have any unfair edge

Rohit mentioned that India doesn't have an edge over other teams in the tournament just because they’ve played all their matches in Dubai. The other teams have been moving around between Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi in Pakistan, heading to Dubai only for their games against India in the group stage. Australia and South Africa made their way to Dubai after figuring out they would face India only after the last group match between Rohit Sharma's team and New Zealand. Now, South Africa is heading back to Lahore to take on New Zealand in the second semi-final.

Rohit explained, "Look, in the three matches we played, the pitch conditions were similar, but each game had its own quirks. Today, we noticed the bowlers were getting a bit of swing, which we didn’t see in the first two matches. Plus, it gets a bit chilly in the evening, which can definitely affect swing. We’re aware of that. But with the three games, there are four or five different pitches being used, and each one behaves differently. We can’t predict which wicket we’ll be playing on."

He added, "In the semi-final, we have no idea what pitch we’ll get. It’s a bit of a mystery. But whatever the situation, we need to adjust and see how things unfold. We’ll play according to that. This isn’t our home ground; it’s Dubai. We don’t have a ton of experience playing here, so it’s new for us as well."

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