Rishabh Pant has to be in this Indian ODI team: Michael Vaughan

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has come up with a word of advice for India after the Men in Blue suffered a batting failure in the first ODI against Australia. India’s fragile middle-order came back to haunt them once again as the new-look Australian team beat the visitors by 34 runs to go one nil up in the three-match series. India’s top-order had a rare failure with the bat but the middle-order did little to make amends for it.

Chasing 289 on a good batting track, India made a horrific start with the bat. Even before they could settle down, they lost in-form Shikhar Dhawan, ever-reliable Virat Kohli and the dependable Ambati Rayudu. The scoreboard was reading only four runs when Rayudu became the third Indian wicket to fall. The game looked all but over at that very moment but Rohit Sharma scored a stunning ton to keep India’s slim hopes alive.

Rohit found a stable partner in MS Dhoni but the latter’s struggle to score at a brisk pace cost India, dear. Dhoni never looked like upping the ante and departed after scoring 51 off 96. The slow knock once again showed that Dhoni cannot be trusted every time with the role of a finisher. The likes of Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja and the tail-enders failed to make an impact either as India could only manage 254 despite Rohit scoring 133.

Michael Vaughan’s advice:

The Ashes-winning skipper has batted for Rishabh Pant’s inclusion in the team. Pant had to make way for Dhoni for the ongoing series after making his debut in ODIs during the last series against Windies. Dhoni is more than likely to don the gloves in the upcoming World Cup but Vaughan believes India should include Pant in the team even if he plays just as a batsman.

“Without question @RishabPant777 has to be in this Indian ODI team .. !! #AUSvIND .. Even if he plays just as a Batsman..” Michael Vaughan wrote on Twitter.

Here’s the tweet

Pant, known for his big-hitting abilities, recently impressed in the Test series against Australia. He finished the series as the second highest run-scorer, scoring 350 runs including an unbeaten 159-run knock in the fourth Test.

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