Rishabh Pant faces Champions Trophy axe, to give his spot up for Hardik, Rinku, Samson in squad selected by Manjrekar

Aiming to find some form, Rishabh Pant is reportedly set to return at the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, which is scheduled to resume from January 23.

Rishabh Pant struggled for form in Australia at the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The wicketkeeper-batter managed only 255 runs in nine innings, and now some fans and former players have urged Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee to drop him.

Sanjay Manjrekar urged Ajit Agarkar to drop Rishabh Pant, Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya.

Aiming to find some form, he is reportedly set to return at the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, which is scheduled to resume from January 23. Meanwhile, Agarkar is set to announce India’s Champions Trophy 2025 squad on Saturday in Mumbai.

Sanjay Manjrekar urges Ajit Agarkar to drop Rishabh Pant

Speaking on Star Sports, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar urged Agarkar to drop Pant for the upcoming tournament, and suggested the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson as replacements. Manjrekar reasoned that in 50-over matches, teams need to accelerate in middle overs, which can be facilitated by other players.

“Pant, I would want him to maybe miss the odd-50 overs tournament. 50 overs is a lot about what happens in the middle. Later if you want to accelerate, you can keep players like Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson in wicketkeeping. Somebody that they might consider,” he said.

Rohit Sharma and Co. crumbled to a 1-3 defeat in Australia, and it was a series riddled with controversy. Virat Kohli had a meltdown with Aussie media, and also a shoulder bump altercation with Sam Konstas. Meanwhile, R Ashwin announced his immediate retirement after the third Test in controversial circumstances. Meanwhile, skipper Rohit opted out of the final Test after poor displays. The only positive was Jasprit Bumrah, who was adjudged as Player of the Series.

Although he hasn’t dominated in ODI cricket, Pant has shown his brilliance in the format. In 2022, he smacked his maiden ton vs England, and also boasts a 59.7 percent boundary rate and 107.5 strike rate. Samson is a favourite to replace and last played an ODI in December 2023, featuring vs South Africa, where he got a ton.