Cricket: 'He lends flexibility': Dinesh Karthik on Rishabh Pant ahead of WTC finals

Dinesh Karthik feels that wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant could play a significant role for Team India in the upcoming WTC Finals and the five-match Test series against England.

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“He lends flexibility to the team and the management has the opportunity to play the extra batsman or the bowler as per requirement. And what is most important is the way he instills fear in the mind of opposition. Pant has the effect that Virender Sehwag or Adam Gilchrist used to have on rivals,” Karthik told the Times of India in an interview, about Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant.

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Rishabh Pant played a vital role in Team India's win in series against Australia and England. The young southpaw will be looking to contribute to the highly-anticipated WTC Finals that will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton that begins on June 18.

As we move towards the first-ever World Test Championships, one can't consider two more equitably coordinated with sides than India and New Zealand. The Kiwis have featured in the finals of the last two ICC Cricket World Cups, while India has routinely made it to the knockouts of ICC occasions.

Semi-finalists in the 2015 World Cup, Semi-finalists in the 2016 World T20, 2017 Champions Trophy, and Semi-finalists in the 2019 World Cup ring a bell. Consequently, if any two different groups would have been battling for the WTC crown, the term 'top picks' might have held weightage, yet not with India and New Zealand.