Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant missed India’s training session with viral fever, informed vice-captain Shubman Gill, on Saturday. India are due to play Pakistan in the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday.
The illness-induced absence is unlikely to hurt India’s playing XI against arch-rivals Pakistan with KL Rahul the preferred option for the team management.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
There were suggestions that Rahul would be preferred over Pant in the ODIs ahead of the Champions Trophy itself during India’s 3-0 triumph over England at home.
Those rumours were confirmed first by coach Gautam Gambhir and then in actions during India’s opening fixture in the Champions Trophy. Against Bangladesh, KL Rahul took the wicketkeeper’s role with confidence. He continued his red-hot form with a composed 41* from 47 deliveries, which included two sixes and a boundary, as India went past the finishing line with ease.
“KL is our No 1 wicketkeeper and this is what I can say at the moment. Rishabh Pant will get his chance but at the moment it is KL who has done well and we cannot play two wicketkeeper-batters,” Gambhir said after the series against England. “We don’t look at averages and stats. We look at who can deliver when,” he added.
Pant’s last ODI appearance came in 2024 against Sri Lanka, where he fell cheaply for six runs.
