“Él es un bateador que teme Inglaterra” – Rishabh Pant tiene la ventaja sobre Inglaterra, Manjrekar da veredicto

Rishabh Pant has been in great form in the IND vs ENG series, and has scored 425 runs in three Tests, at an average of 70.83. That, with two tons and two fifties to his name. He has been unorthodox in his stroke-making, and has kept the English bowlers on his toes.

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Pant should continue to bat in the way he does, and that comes from management’s confidence in him. And if India need to outbat England out of the match, then the southpaw should be allowed to take the charge. “Rishabh Pant will play in his way no matter what the situation is. He should get that licence because he deserves it. The batting unit has to function well. Jaiswal must think a bit about how he got out. He should make use of his form. Pant, I feel, is a big player at No.5. He is a batter who England fear,” he said via Star Sports.

As for skipper Shubman Gill, Manjrekar said that after a failed Lord’s Test, he will be at his very best, and among lots of runs. “Shubman Gill’s role is important. But India should also look that there was no contribution from Gill in the batting at Lord’s and despite that the batting line-up was challenging. That is a good takeaway that we are not completely dependent on Gill,” he added.

“I feel he has the ability to carry form. Maybe there will be some introspection in this gap. He should look at whether the altercation was necessary or should he just focus on captaincy. If he does that, then his run-making machine will run again at Old Trafford,” Manjrekar concluded.

The 4th IND vs ENG Test starts from July 23 in Old Trafford, where India has never won a Test, but drawn five matches till now. The availability of Akash Deep is still not confirmed, while Arshdeep Singh has been ruled out of the Test due to an injury.