India head coach Gautam Gambhir has firmly indicated that KL Rahul remains the team's first-choice wicketkeeper for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, making it apparent that Rishabh Pant is not being considered for a place in the playing eleven in the immediate future.
Despite being named in the squad for the recently concluded ODI series against England, Pant was the only player who did not feature in any match, while others were given opportunities.
Rahul, who initially batted at No. 6 in the first two ODIs, looked more at ease at No. 5 in the final match, scoring a crucial 40 off 29 balls in India’s commanding 142-run victory.
"Ultimately, it is very difficult to talk about individuals. But all I can say is that if he is part of the squad, when time comes, he might get an opportunity. But at the moment, obviously, KL is the No. 1 wicketkeeper and he has delivered for us," Gambhir stated at the post-series press conference.
The former India opener further clarified the team’s stance on fielding two wicketkeepers.
"When you've got two wicketkeepers in the squad, you can't play both the wicketkeepers with the kind of quality we've got. Hopefully, whenever he (Pant) gets that opportunity, he should be ready for it. That's all I can say at the moment. Yes, KL is the one who's going to start," he added.
While Gambhir refrained from specifying any areas of concern for India, he commended the team’s all-round effort in the series.
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"See, there will never be a case where all the boxes will be ticked, but yes, (it is a) good result. The important thing is that we were very, very professional today," he said. "We could have easily seen this game as a dead rubber, but the important thing was that we wanted to try and put ourselves under pressure, we wanted to try and play this game as a must-win game and guys actually turned up like that.”
Addressing individual performances, Gambhir stressed the need for patience with young players, using Shubman Gill’s case as an example. Gill had excelled in the ODIs with two fifties and a century on flat tracks after struggling in Australia’s pace-friendly conditions.
"The problem is that we keep judging people after every innings. He's still a young batter, he's still 25. He's got a great future ahead of him and if he's been consistent in one format… Test cricket is tough cricket. He's shown that he belongs to that format as well," Gambhir observed.
"I hope that going forward, he can actually deliver in that (Test) format as well. If someone can do it in 50-over cricket, why can't he do it in Test cricket as well? He's played some really good innings in the Test format as well. By judging a young cricketer after every inning, we're not going to carry Indian cricket forward like that,” he remarked.
"You've got to start putting trust in these young players. He's still 25. So, imagine what can happen in the next couple of years if we keep backing him and keep backing a lot of young cricketers in that dressing room. That is something which we need to be clear about," he added.
Gambhir also explained India’s decision to manage senior pacer Mohammed Shami’s workload in view of the Champions Trophy.
"We were trying to manage his workload, that's the reason why we played him in two T20s and two ODIs and hopefully he's going to be fresh and ready to go in the Champions Trophy," he said.
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