Ex-Indian cricketer names destructive Indian opener as suitable replacement for Rishabh Pant for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Rishabh Pant (Source: Twitter)

As Rishabh Pant has suffered a horrific car crash and has got severely injured, there is a big problem that Team India need to look into. A much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23 is upon us and the selectors would be fretting upon Pant's replacement for the series. It has been learnt that Pant will take 3-6 months or more to recover, according to AIIMS Rishikesh.

This means someone else has to replace Pant for the series. KS Bharat has been Pant’s understudy and has replaced him in his absence ever since Wriddhiman Saha was kept out of the Test side. However, former India selector Saba Karim is of the opinion that the Andhra wicketkeeper batter would not be the perfect replacement for Pant.

“I agree that KS Bharat is being groomed for the Test keeping role. But with all due respect to him, I feel Ishan Kishan is more suitable as an ideal replacement for Pant, considering the kind of role that Pant was playing in the Test team. He is playing the Ranji Trophy and has scored a hundred at quick pace,” Kishan is yet to play a Test match for India.

Ishan Kishan has been playing red ball cricket for a few years- Saba Karim

Ishan Kishan has come back in the reckoning, once again, in ODI Cricket because of the scintillating 210 off 131 balls with 24 fours and 10 sixes that he scored in the third ODI against Bangladesh. When we talk about Kishan’s record in domestic cricket, he has played 46 first-class matches and scored 2805 runs at an average of 38.42 with five hundreds and 16 fifties against his name.

“We were winning Tests due to Pant’s presence because not only was he playing match-winning knocks, but was doing them at a quick pace. This was transferring pressure on the opposition, while also giving bowlers time to take 20 wickets. Kishan hasn’t played red-ball cricket for India A, but he has been playing domestic red-ball cricket for a few years,” Karim added.

India have been in good Test match form having won 2-0 against Bangladesh, which was their last Test assignment. They won a thriller against Bangladesh at Dhaka by three wickets and will face Australia in a four-match home series which will be their next assignment in Test cricket.