Kedar Jadhav ahead of Rishabh Pant is a breather for the other teams, feels Michael Vaughan

On Saturday, June 22, India got a massive scare from Afghanistan at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. The Men in Blue crawled to 224 for eight in their 50 overs after which Gulbadin Naib’s men almost pulled off a stunner. But eventually, India won the match by 11 runs to stay unbeaten in the 2019 World Cup. In the batting department, Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav were India’s shining lights.

He came to bat after Mohammad Nabi got rid of the dangerous Virat Kohli with around 20 overs left in the Indian innings. However, Jadhav didn’t succumb to the pressure. The veteran didn’t have much role to play in India’s first three victories, but this time around, he had a tough task ahead of him. The Afghan spinners hit the right channels and a resolute Jadhav kept milking the bowling.

The Pune-born cricketer went on to score 52 off 68 balls with three fours and an over-boundary. He was ultimately run out in the penultimate ball of the Indian innings. Had he not put his head down and rather got out to a rash stroke, India would’ve fallen much short of the target they managed to garner in the end. Meanwhile, Michael Vaughan had an opinion about Jadhav in the eleven.

Vaughan speaks

The former English cricketer believes that keeping Kedar in the lineup and simultaneously keeping the swashbuckling Rishabh Pant on the bench is a positive sign for the other teams. The 21-year-old Pant initially came in as a cover for opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who injured his thumb en route his masterful century versus Australia at the Kennington Oval in London.

A few days ago, Dhawan was ruled out and Pant was named as his replacement. Vaughan reckons that as long as Pant doesn’t break into the eleven, the rest of the participating teams would be over the moon. Pant was in contention for a berth in the World Cup squad, but he missed out.

Nevertheless, fate had something pleasant in store for the southpaw and he made his way through. Vaughan took to Twitter and wrote, “The rest of the world will be delighted if Kedar Jadhav continues to play ahead of Rishab Pant … !! #CWC19 #JustSaying,”

Here is Vaughan’s tweet