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Rishabh Pant will be persisted with, states Sanjay Bangar ahead of India's clash with Bangladesh
Rishbah Pant played his first World Cup 2019 match against England on Sunday
India's batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that Rishabh Pant, who played his first World Cup 2019 game against England on Sunday, will be persisted with and will play against Bangladesh on Tuesday. He explained that Pant had been drafted into the XI to add a left-handed option in the middle order, and they have no plans to drop him anytime soon.
"The team management has been feeling the absence of a left hander after Shikhar was injured. It was a ploy to use right-left combination in the middle overs to upset the bowling plans a bit. Because of that Adil Rashid couldn't bowl the number of overs he'd have usually bowled," Bangar explained.
"I felt he had a decent innings, played a couple of good shots and a partnership going. So yes we are going to persist with Rishabh.
"He's been on the sidelines for sometime. It's not like he has just joined. He's spent two weeks with us, he's a player who has done really well at international level especially in Tests. ODI format is slightly newer to him, the team management and senior players are trying to help him with various mindsets and roles that come with the middle order job, and importance of right-left combination. As also, marrying that thought process with the ability that he possesses. So he can straightaway put pressure on the spinners and it can help the team in a big way."
Bangar went on to elaborate how the absence of Bhuvi, who has missed the last three games due to an injury, has affected the batting line-up.
"When you don't have major contributions from the lower order, wherein a Bhuvneshwar Kumar becomes vital. Or anybody who can be handy at No. 8, could be Jadeja. It gives a bit of a freedom to somebody batting at 6 or 7, they could start going at the bowling a bit earlier rather than leaving it for the last 3-4 overs. From that point of view, it's a tactic which we've been debating as a team combination. There will be a point in the tournament where we will have to reassess the combinations."
