Former Indian opening batter Aakash Chopra has asserted that Rishabh Pant wouldn’t get his place in the ODI team anytime soon. Notably, his comments came right after he was excluded from the forthcoming West Indies series.
Selectors have instead opted for Dhruv Jurel, with KL Rahul being the first-choice keeper for the upcoming ODI series. Interestingly, Pant wasn’t part of the recent ODI series against Afghanistan and England.
“Rishabh Pant could have been in the ODI team because Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are not available, but Dhruv Jurel has been preferred. He has pipped him to the post. It almost seems like the selectors have said that we’re not looking at you for ODIs. He has been out for the last couple of series. There is no issue of form with him because he scored runs in Sri Lanka,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Dhruv Jurel’s name is another big development, because he was only part of the Test team till now. It seemed like his name would come up for the other teams one day, and that day has come. He is a part of the ODI team as well now,” he added.
Chopra also shared his views on Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi receiving his maiden ODI call-up and sounded optimistic about him getting a chance to play in the three-match series against the Caribbeans.
“Auqib Nabi in ODI cricket, now that is an interesting development because you are not playing him. You kept him in the Test team and did not play him, but now you have included him in the ODI team. Prima facie makes you think that he is not an ODI bowler, but he is in the team, who knows, he might even get a chance to play. This is a young-looking fast bowling attack,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
India’s ODI team: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul [VC], Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
