'Rishabh Pant needs to play with more responsibility'

Speaking on Star Sports Press Room, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina shared his views on the importance of Rishabh Pant in the Indian team, he said, “He has improved a lot on his wicket-keeping, Rishabh Pant needs to play with more responsibility because this is a 50 over tournament. In the upcoming tournament with England you’ve got 5 T20Is and 3 One Days, this will be a good opportunity for Rishabh Pant. It depends on how you play, I think if Yashasvi does not play in the top order then Rishabh Pant will have a very important role, he can bat at the fourth position he can also come in to bat before Hardik because if Rishabh goes on to play 40-50 deliveries then he can finish off the game. He has to tell himself that if I play fifty deliveries then I can score 80-100 runs but it is important for him to spend some time. If he makes a mistake then that’s going to cost a lot because he has that talent, he has got that ability, he is going to be the X factor for the Indian team.”

When asked about the importance of the upcoming series against England and prediction regarding semifinalists of the Champions Trophy, Suresh Raina said. “As you rightly said when the fifty over tournament will be taking place, it’ll be really important the way the kind of team that plays the way they perform. This practice is really important for the players like Mohammed Shami and Washington Sundar because they’ve not played One Days for a very long time. So the selectors and Rohit Sharma will have their eyes on them. And as far as the semi-finalists are concerned I think India and New Zealand will make it and Afghanistan can also make it as they have played a lot of matches, they also have mystery spinners in their team. So, I won’t write-off Afghanistan because ‘Afghan Jalebi’ is going to come to Dubai because they have an idea of playing the short formats and their quite united too and I think South Africa have done really well as a team!”

Suresh Raina also spoke about India’s recent bad form in the ODIs and whether this Champions Trophy will be their last ODI tournament, he said, “There is concern because we have lost against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, you also mentioned that our top three batters are not in form. As you are going to play five T20s and three One Days, so this series will be quite crucial. I don’t think Pakistan has an edge over India because we have more match winners comparatively. We have six match winners, we also have good bowlers but the wicket there will behave a bit differently. You’ll have to bat with patience, you’ll have to absorb the pressure, and you’ll have to build partnerships. That’s the reason I thought you could have picked up Bishnoi, there could have been a leg-spinner in the team. Kuldeep hasn’t played matches post-surgery, so could there have been a leg-spinner in the team. If you look at any team in the Champions Trophy you’ll get to see a leg-spinner whether be it Pakistan, New Zealand, or whether be it any team. As you rightly said, top three needs to perform, I certainly do not think there is a slump. When you get a significant gap after a big tour, then you identify your mistakes, you’ll introspect and when there is a clash against Pakistan then they prepare themselves differently. I think Rohit Sharma has been brilliant in his batting, he has been brilliant in his captaincy, and Virat Kohli, I hope both of them win and bring back Champions Trophy back home.”

Responding to the question if Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja will able to repeat the 2103 heroics, Suresh Raina said, "I clearly remember in 2013 when Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli won; it was a great celebration and atmosphere. I think Ravindra Jadeja won the Man of the Series award in that tournament because of the way he bowled. All three of them are now part of the same team. Rohit Sharma is the captain. I remember when Rohit Sharma wasn’t picked for the 2011 World Cup; he felt really bad and wanted to make the Champions Trophy count. Recently, he has won the T20 World Cup. He is now winning the ICC titles he hadn’t won before. Virat has lifted this trophy before and knows how to absorb the pressure. The conditions back then were completely different, but when they go to Dubai, the conditions will be totally different again. Rohit knows how to handle the situation. If Rohit goes on to play 20-25 overs, I won’t be surprised if he repeats his heroics from the 2019 World Cup.”