India skipper Virat Kohli took a controversial call to play Rishabh Pant ahead of Wriddhiman Saha in the two Test matches against New Zealand. Given Saha’s impressive wicketkeeping skills, he was confirmed to play both Tests but Rishabh’s batting abilities saw him get a place in the playing XI. He scored 60 runs in four innings.
More than a month after the tour, former India spinner Dilip Doshi has said that he was shocked to see Rishabh keeping wickets in NZ, adding that he would have played Saha – the best wicketkeeper.
“I was shocked to see Rishabh Pant keeping the wickets in New Zealand. I would play the best wicketkeeper in India first, and that’s Wriddhiman Saha. He has proven his mettle as a wicketkeeper-batsman as well. [But] wicketkeeping is such an important position that I would really not mess around with it. In the absence of Dhoni, because he has left a few years back, Wriddhi should be the best choice for India. Pant has [been] spoken about [a lot] by many critics, and I’m sure he has a future, but if I were him, I would perfect my wicketkeeping technique first before donning the India cap at the Test level,” he told Sportstar.
Rishabh has scored 814 runs in 13 Tests at 38.76 (two centuries) while Saha has 1238 runs at 30.19 (three centuries).
