The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squads for the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024-25, scheduled to commence on September 5. Notably, India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will make his return to red-ball cricket in the tournament.
Pant has been included in ‘Team B’ but surprisingly, he has not been appointed as the captain. Instead, Abhimanyu Easwaran has been entrusted with the leadership role. This decision has raised questions from former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, who believes Pant should be considered for the Test captaincy.
“Rishabh Pant is not a captain. He has been selected in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s team. He is playing under Abhimanyu Easwaran’s captaincy, which is absolutely okay. However, is Rishabh Pant not even a candidate for Test captaincy? I am a little surprised,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra emphasized Pant’s exceptional performance in Test cricket, highlighting his centuries in South Africa, England, and Australia. He believes Pant’s consistency and aggressive style of play make him a suitable candidate for the captaincy.
“I am not aligned with this personally because the best avatar of Rishabh Pant you have seen is as a Test cricketer. He is the only wicketkeeper in the history of Indian cricket who has scored centuries in South Africa, England, and Australia in Test matches. The way he plays in Test cricket and the consistency with which he scores, he was the captaincy candidate in my opinion,” Chopra added.
Chopra also expressed curiosity about India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir’s views on Pant’s captaincy potential. “However, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, and even Abhimanyu Easwaran are captains, but Pant is not a captain, and that is a huge takeaway in my opinion,” he said.
“A new era has started. So I will be very curious to know what Gautam’s opinion is with regards to Rishabh Pant the captain,” added the ex-India batter.
