Problems barely seem to end of the Indian team at the 2019 ICC World Cup. While at first, if it was the injury to their swashbuckling opener Shikhar Dhawan, then now, reports suggest that the team management at the selection committee were barely on the same page when it came to announcing the replacement for Dhawan.
It’s understood that while the selectors wanted to announce wicketkeeper-batsman Rishbah Pant as a replacement for Dhawan in the 15-member squad, the team management was not in agreement to this decision, thus forcing the selectors to call the Delhi player as a backup.
The three selectors — chairman MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh — who are in England 'wanted to announce a replacement straightaway', a PTI report states.
"... But the team management seemed against the idea as a replacement would have meant that Dhawan would practically have no chance of making it if India goes into the semi-finals. Look at his hands. It's plastered and things are not great," a BCCI source, privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
However, with Dhawan showing very little sings of progress, the team management agreed that it would need a back-up if the situation turns worse. "He (Pant) bats in the middle-order, and obviously being a left-hander (also) helps. He was named in the stand-by as well. So, the team management has gone and picked him for the order," batting coach Sanjay Bangar had said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, the eve of their game against New Zealand.
Moreover, it is also understood that Pant will join the team only on Thursday, after the BCCI logistics team had to wait for the necessary approvals from the board before processing the request.
Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Dibyangshu Sarkar
