Sabyasachi Bagchi: Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammed Azharuddin feels that during the first T20I at the Eden Gardens on Sunday India’s stand in skipper Rohit Sharma should have given young Rishabh Pant a chance behind the stumps in place of Dinesh Karthik.
With MS Dhoni not playing the T20I series to give more time to Pant behind the wicket, many started believing that Pant would get the chance behind the wicket but Rohit chose senior wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik in place of him.
“One got to bank on Pant. If he is good enough to keep in Tests in England than why not T20. And no doubt that he showed better skills in England than Karthik,” Azharuddin, who rang the Eden bell to start the T20I, told reporters.
“I honestly feel Rishabh Pant should have kept wickets today. When you’re a keeper you got to keep wickets. He is a good player. He has done well. The more he keeps wickets, the more he will learn. I think his keeping needs to improve a lot. In England, he batted well but his keeping left a lot to be desired.”
Azhar looked really impressed with the disciplined bowling performance of the Indian cricket team at the Eden Gardens.
“We bowled well, we allowed the batsmen to make mistakes. Everybody bowled well. The score says the bowlers did a good job,” added Azhar.
The former India skipper believes that India has a good chance to win a test series in Australia as this team has a good variety in batting and bowling.
“India has a good chance in Australia. We have good batsmen and bowlers. If we can combine both together and do well, we have a chance.”