'Honeymoon period might be over for Rishabh Pant' - Brad Hogg opines whether KL Rahul should replace Pant as keeper in 4th Test

Nothing really went India’s way during the third Test against England at the Headingley in Leeds. Virat Kohli’s men were outplayed in all three departments as the hosts won the contest by an innings and 76 runs. With this triumph, England have also leveled the five-match series 1-1 and they’ll be confident ahead of the next game. While several Indian players had a tough time in Leeds, not many disappointed more than Rishabh Pant.

The southpaw registered scores of 2 and 1 which didn’t help India by any means. In fact, the swashbuckler hasn’t been at his best throughout this series. In three games, he slammed just 87 runs with his average being a tad over 17. With the young batter failing regularly, a prospect of dropping him and handing the wicket-keeping gloves to opener KL Rahul has come in the picture.

Speaking of the same, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg said it’s a possibility, although it would be a big risk. The veteran asserted that flaws in Pant’s technique have been exposed against the swinging deliveries in England. However, Hogg also believes that opening the batting and keeping would be a daunting task. Hence, the team management would wait for at least one more Test before taking the major decision.

When the ball is moving, Rishabh Pant’s technique is being opened up: Brad Hogg

“If you look at the Australia series (earlier this year), it’s that aggressive brand of batting and he (Rishabh Pant) does it so well. He turns the game on its head like that. When the ball is moving in England, his technique is being opened up and shows he’s not conducive to those particular conditions. So, I think it will be a big risk to KL (Rahul) keep, and open the batting but it could be an opportunity for KL to do the job,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.

The 50-year-old further said that if India go for this strategy, Suryakumar Yadav can find a place at number six. Highlighting Rahul’s versatility, Hogg backed the opener to play the dual role. However, he feels Pant will feature in the fourth Test which gets underway on September 2 at the Kennington Oval in London.

“He has been very adaptive before, he has done it before and this could be an opening for SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) at number six and that’s probably the position he’ll best be suited. So, this is a very good option for India to take but remember the workload on KL Rahul,” Hogg opined.

“It’s a very very hard job and I think KL Rahul is capable of doing it. So, the honeymoon period might be over for Rishabh Pant but I don’t think they’ll make that change in the next Test match. If they lose the next Test, they might think about it for the final Test match,” he added.