Follow UsIndia skipper Rohit Sharma ended all debate as to who India would prefer in the first ODI against England as the wicketkeeper-batter between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Rahul came into contention after Pant, who was injured in 2022, was ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023.
However, now that Pant is already back and has kept wickets in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning campaign, there were doubts about whether Rahul would be able to keep his place in the playing 11 or not.
But Rohit was clear as to what the Indian team was expecting from both the players.
"KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now, and he's done pretty well. If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he's done exactly what the team required him to do,” he said.
“Both are quite capable of winning games on their own, so it's a good headache to have whether to play KL or Rishabh, but obviously, looking at what we've done in the past, having that continuity is also very important for us, so that is where we stand as a team, with KL and Rishabh,” clarified the 37-year-old.
Varun Chakravarthy, who impressed everyone in the five-match T20I series against England, was also included in the ODI series. Will he go to the UAE for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025? Rohit thinks that at the moment nothing can be said, but the gates are definitely open.
"He's clearly got something different about him. This series presents us with an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he's capable of. Definitely he will be in contention. If things pan out really well for us, and he does what is required, then definitely there is something that we need to think about,” said the Indian captain about the process involved in deciding whether to take Chakravarthy to the Champions Trophy.