Indian cricketers’ fan following is probably the most in the sport, as compared to other teams. Wherever Indian players go, it’s almost certain that fans would follow them, trying to geta glimpse or even get a selfie and autograph. And if its a big star like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant then the excitement hits crescendo. The same thing happened at a dinner table where Rohit, Pant and Yashavi Jaiswal were present. A boy walked up to them and kept insisting for autographs on his T-shirt.
Rishabh Pant played along and even asked him interesting questions that had the boy in splits. Pant asked him, “Do you play?”. The boy replied, “yes both batting and bowling. I am an allrounder.” Then Pant told him: “Fast bowling? Don’t you do fast bowling?” To which the boy the smiled back.
– A lovely video of Rohit Sharma with little fan.
Captain Rohit, Rishab Pant, Jaiswal, Abhishek Nair and T Dilip are sitting together and having dinner at team hotel in Bhuvneshwar when a little fan comes to take an autograph from Rohit and Rohit and Rishab talk with him so… pic.twitter.com/7Tt93JSYjA
— (@rushiii_12) February 10, 2025
While Rohit Sharma has played in the first two ODIs against England, Rishabh Pant has not been used. KL Rahul has got a preference over Pant for the wicketkeeper-batter’s role.
There is an option for the Indian team to play both Pant and Rahul but with Axar Patel being used higher up the order, the chances of Pant to be in the XI has diminished.
“Before the match started, there was a suggestion from me that maybe Rishabh Pant could be tried only with the Champions Trophy in mind. Plus, India would have a left-hander in the top six or seven. Axar Patel is a great option to have because this is a guy, we have seen him bat in Test matches for India and he has a batter’s temperament,” said Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo.
Manjrekar also said Axar’s ability to handle spin tilted the scale in his favour, adding that the southpaw could come in handy for the team in Champions Trophy with pitches likely to help spinners.
“Boy, he looked good against spinners (in the first ODI). India have had a problem in the middle overs where they have struggled to find batters who are competent against spin. Because this Champions Trophy is going to be played in our part of the world, there’s going to be a lot of spin impact on the games,” he said.
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