Get Rishabh Pant into the team, says Sunil Gavaskar

With India’s gloveman in the ongoing England Test series, Dinesh Karthik, failing to impress, we might see Rishabh Pant making his debut at Trent Bridge in the third Test. It would also mean that captain Virat Kohli would see yet another changed team for a Test match, something which is seen regularly since he has taken over as the full-time captain in 2015.

Karthik managed just 21 runs in four innings in the series so far, including a golden duck in the second innings at Lord’s and never looked reliable in the lower order of the under-pressure Indian batting line-up. it could open the doors for Pant, the uncapped wicket-keeper in the squad. He scored an unbeaten 34 in the warm-up three-day game that India played with Essex at Chelmsford ahead of the first Test.

The 20-year-old Delhi cricketer averages over 54 in domestic cricket with the highest score of 308 and has played four T20Is for India so far, the last being in March this year. Pant would not have been on the flight to England had Wriddhiman Saha been fit but now he might be near to make history.

It is an opportunity to play him

Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar had also batted for Pant not so long ago when he had said that the left-hander’s selection in the squad ahead of everybody else justifies the talent in him.

“It is an opportunity for sure for the third Test, he might get into the team. The fact that he was chosen ahead of everybody else, the moment that Saha was declared unfit, just tells you about the thinking of the selection committee and team management. Pant might get in the team as a batsman down the order,” said Gavaskar, according to Times of India.

Pant, who had a decent Indian Premier League (IPL) outing this year for Delhi Daredevils, had a significant tour of England for the India ‘A’ side in June and July. He hit five half-centuries in eight matches, including four in last three games, which makes him familiar enough with the English conditions.

If Pant makes the cut and manages to produce a decent performance to start with, India’s headaches to find a keeper for the longer format since the departure of MS Dhoni in December 2014 could well find a remedy. They have experimented far too long with the likes of Karthik, Parthiv Patel and Saha and although Saha has done comparatively well with the gloves and bat, his frequent injuries have not helped the team’s cause either.