MSK Prasad gives reason behind the selection of Rishabh Pant in ODI squad

India have included young Rishabh Pant in their ODI squad for the first two ODIs against the West Indies. Pant has replaced Dinesh Karthik and could be another candidate to fill the hole which lies vacant at the number four position.

The young man has had a great start to his Test career and there have been people advocating for his inclusion in the side ahead of the world cup. There have been concerns over the form of MS Dhoni as the seasoned campaigner has struggled to get going in the middle order. Hence, tjhe inclusion of Pant could well be a cover for Dhoni.

However, chief selector MSK Prasad has cleared the air over the same. He mentioned that Pant has been picked as a specialist batsman and that Dhoni is still the number one choice as the wicket-keeper.

“Yes, definitely (Pant selected as a batsman only) but if a need arises he will be the backup keeper,” Prasad said after the squad was announced.

“It is no brainer who is our No 1 wicketkeeper. In search of second wicketkeeper, we have given opportunities to DK and right now we are giving an opportunity to Rishabh Pant. At an appropriate time, we will take a call as to who is the best among the two,” he added.

Team for first 2 ODIs against Windies :

Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (wk),Rishabh Pant, R Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, KL Rahul

First Published: Oct 12, 2018 10:32 IST