Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on Rishabh Pant’s absence for the five-match T20I series against England. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel announced India’s 15-man squad on Sunday, picking Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel as the two wicket-keepers in the side.
Meanwhile, Pant last played for India in T20Is in July 2024 against Sri Lanka and he was not part of the squad on the South Africa as he went to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Pant recently scored 255 runs in five Test matches against Australia at an average of 28.33 but his shot selection was questioned after India lost the MCG Test by 184 runs.
On the other hand, Pant has scored 1209 runs in 76 T20Is at an average of 23.25 and thus he doesn’t have a great T20I record.
“You picked Dhruv Jurel and didn’t pick Rishabh Pant. That’s an interesting one. It cannot happen that you are thinking Rishabh Pant is not capable of playing T20s, that he doesn’t do well in white-ball cricket. Are we going to take that call so early in somebody’s career?” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“I feel Rishabh Pant is an asset. He is a generational talent. He is a player you should invest in. He might have been rested as he has come after playing a long series. However, his name is not certain for the Champions Trophy. Even if it is, it’s not certain in the XI. So you could have kept him with the team,” Chopra added.
Chopra expressed his delight to note Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in the T20I squad. The renowned commentator said the youngster has excellent temperament.
“I love the kid. How well he bats. Temperament is absolutely outstanding. We saw in Ranchi that the guy has the might. He was playing his first match and gave a Player of the Match performance. He played the first match of BGT (2024-25) and I am not going to go deeper into it because anyone can get out in one match,” he said.
The former Delhi player reckons Jurel’s inclusion is based more on pure potential rather than performance.
“He scored runs in the side game he played before that. He has got a lot of potential and promise. However, when we see T20 cricket, the third ‘P’, which is performance, hasn’t come yet. So you have picked him on total pure potential. He is a middle-order batter for sure but he is also going to warm the bench,” Chopra observed.
India will take on England in the first T20I in Kolkata on 22nd January.
