Reports: BCCI official hints at picking Rishabh Pant for the Windies ODI series

MS Dhoni has arguably been India’s stalwart in international cricket, especially in the limited-overs formats. However, the veteran hasn’t quite been at his very best in the last months owing to which supporters have raised concerns over his credentials to play at the highest level at the age of 37.

The Jharkhand-born player retired from Test cricket after India’s tour of Australia in 2014. In the meantime, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is pondering over keeping the wicketkeeper-batsman afresh ahead of next year’s World Cup in England and Wales.

Pant has the ability to finish games

An official of the world’s richest cricket board told that Dhoni is set to play the World Cup in all probability, something which is expected to please the ardent supporters of Dhoni. Moreover, the official also said that Rishabh Pant may be given a few chances in ODIs.

“We all know that Dhoni will play till the World Cup but there is no harm in grooming Pant, who could be a terrific No.6 or 7 batsman, who has the ability to finish games,” the official was quoted as saying in NDTV Sports.

Pant has been in impressive form of late. He hasn’t tasted much success in the limited opportunities he got in white-ball cricket. However, he has been up to the mark in Test cricket. The Uttarakhand-born cricketer made his debut against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. He started his career with a six of his second delivery, which furrowed many eyebrows.

In the final Test at Kennington Oval in London, the youngster notched his maiden Test century, albeit it came in a losing cause. He went on to score a quick-fore 92 against Windies at SCA Stadium in Rajkot. India are scheduled to play a five-match ODI series against the Windies, starting October 21 and Pant seems to have a fair chance of making the cut.

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