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Former cricketer Suresh Raina shared his views on the importance of Rishabh Pant in the Men in Blue squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 and said that the wicketkeeper-batter needs to "play with more responsibility".
Earlier on Saturday, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and skipper Rohit Sharma held a press conference to announce the 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 and ODI series against England. Pant made his ODI debut in 2018 against West Indies following that he has scored 871 runs in 31 50-over matches at a strike rate of 106.21. The 27-year-old's last ODI game was against Sri Lanka in 2024, where he scored just six runs at a strike rate of 66.66. Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Press Room, Suresh Raina said that Pant has improved a lot in his wicket-keeping. He added that the upcoming white-ball series against England will be a good chance to improve. The former cricketer added that if youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal doesn't make it into the playing eleven then Pant will have a very important role in the squad. "He has improved a lot on his wicket-keeping, Rishabh Pant needs to play with more responsibility because this is a 50-over tournament. In the upcoming tournament with England you've got 5 T20Is and 3 One Days, this will be a good opportunity for Rishabh Pant. It depends on how you play, I think if Yashasvi does not play in the top order then Rishabh Pant will have a very important role, he can bat at the fourth position he can also come in to bat before Hardik because if Rishabh goes on to play 40-50 deliveries then he can finish off the game," Raina was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying. Raina added that it's important for Pant to spend some time on the crease. The 38-year-old concluded by saying that if the wicketkeeper-batter makes a mistake then that's going to cost a lot. "He has to tell himself that if I play fifty deliveries then I can score 80-100 runs but it is important for him to spend some time. If he makes a mistake then that's going to cost a lot because he has that talent, he has got that ability, he is going to be the X factor for the Indian team," he added. The freshest challenge awaiting for Team India is the ICC Champions Trophy, starting from February 19 till March 9. It will be hosted by Pakistan and UAE, with India playing its matches in UAE under a hybrid model. The eight-team tournament will feature 15 fifty-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and in Dubai. The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23. India will start its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20. India's last league match will be against New Zealand on March 2. The Rohit Sharma-led side will play all their matches in Dubai India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja. (ANI)
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