Rishabh Pant unlikely to feature in second ODI following concussion
Young Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant is reportedly not traveling with the team to Rajkot for the second ODI against Australia. Pant suffered a concussion in Tuesday's opening ODI against the side after a lethal bouncer from Pat Cummins hit him on the helmet. However, he has not been ruled out of the match or series yet. Here is more on this.
It all happened in the 44th over of the Indian innings when Cummins bowled a bouncer. As Pant tried to pull it, the ball took the top edge of his bat and went on to hit him on the helmet, before flying up in the air. The ball was caught by Ashton Turner. He did not take the field in the Australian innings.
"Rishabh Pant will not be traveling to Rajkot today with other members. He will join the team later. Normally, 24 hours is the time to keep someone who has suffered concussion under observation," a BCCI source quoted to PTI.
India lost Rohit Sharma early, before Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul got along together. The two batsmen added a 121-run stand for the second wicket. However, they fell in quick succession and that triggered a collapse. Aussies did well to bowl India out for a below-par total. In reply, Aaron Finch and David Warner batted beautifully to hand Australia a 1-0 lead.
As far as Pant's recent performance goes, he has been under fire to not play as per the conditions. Since India's home season from September 15, he has scored 253 runs in 12 innings at an average of 25.30. He has been criticized for throwing away his wicket at crucial junctures. Further, he has been at the receiving end for his below-par wicket-keeping skills.
As of now, it looks unlikely that a replacement would be announced. However, in case India need to find a replacement, fellow young wicket-keeper batsman from Kerala, Sanju Samson, is the ideal man. While he is yet to make his ODI debut, he has already played a couple of T20Is, scoring 25 runs. Meanwhile, he has scored 2,281 List A runs (Average: 30.8).
