Former India wicketkeeper suggests ideal replacement for Rishabh Pant in Australia series

Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim has named an ideal replacement for Rishabh Pant ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia. Pant on Friday met with a horrific car accident on the Delhi-Dehradun highway, which has ruled him out of cricket for several months. He will not take part in the four-match Test series against Australia because of the injuries that he sustained in the accident. 

Talking about Pant's replacement for the series, Karim said Jharkhand cricketer Ishan Kishan will be an ideal replacement for the 25-year-old. Karim cited Kishan's ability to play at a quick pace as the reason to pick him as Pant's replacement in the Test series. The former India player said that Kishan recently scored a century in the Ranji Trophy with a high strike rate. Karim said India was winning Test matches because of Pant scoring at a quick rate, which was putting opponents under pressure. 

"Agree that KS Bharat is being groomed for the Test wicketkeeping role but with all due respect, I think Ishan Kishan is a better candidate to be considered as Pant’ ideal replacement, considering the kind of role that Pant was playing in the Test team. He is currently playing in the Ranji Trophy and has scored a hundred at quick pace," Karim said on India News.

"We were winning Tests due to Pant and not only was he playing match-winning knocks, but was doing them at a quick rate. This was putting the opponents under pressure and giving India's bowlers enough time to take 20 wickets. Kishan hasn’t played red-ball cricket for India A, but he has been playing domestic red-ball cricket for a few years now," he added.

Pant's accident

Pant's car collided with the divider on NH-58 near Manglaur and rolled over multiple times before catching fire. The accident happened at around 5:30 am. Pant was going to Roorkee from Delhi to meet his relatives and was alone in his Mercedes GLE when the accident occurred. Pant is said to have smashed the windscreen of his car to escape before the vehicle blew up in flames. According to the police, Pant fell asleep behind the wheel which caused the accident. 

Image: PTI/BCCI