The Indian selection committee has decided to release the young Indian wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill from the Test squad to get some match time in domestic cricket ahead of the limited-overs series against the West Indies next month. Andhra keeper-batsman Kona Shrikar Bharat has been called up as a backup in the Indian team for Wriddhiman Saha for the remainder of the second and final Test against Bangladesh.
Talking to PTI about the same, a senior BCCI official said, “Rishabh will be playing all the six matches (3 T20s and 3 ODIs) against the West Indies. The selectors though it’s only prudent that he goes and plays in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Delhi.”
Rishabh will now be available for Delhi’s next two Super League matches, against Haryana and Rajasthan on November 24 and November 27 respectively, and also for the semi-finals and final if Delhi manages to make it that far. On the other hand, Gill will be playing for Punjab in their next two Super League games against Karnataka (November 24) and Tamil Nadu (November 25).
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Bharat, who has been a regular feature for India A in red-ball matches finally got some reward for his consistent performances during the last two seasons. He has scored 3,909 runs in 69 FC matches with eight centuries and 20 half-centuries which include a triple hundred.
Before joining the Indian team, Bharat said, “I played the first pink-ball match in Lucknow when it was introduced in the Duleep Trophy in 2015. I got a call and was asked to join the team in the morning. I am looking forward to sharing the dressing room with my idol Virat Bhai.”
The ICC rule that came into effect in 2017 says that a substitute keeper can take place of the first team glovesman if he happens to sustain an on-field injury. However, Wriddhiman Saha will not be having any trouble and Bharat’s inclusion is merely a precautionary measure.
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Talking about the same, Bharat said, “Wriddhiman is one of the best wicketkeepers of the current era. I’m hoping to learned a lot from them. Too excited.”
