India’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, has acknowledged that it has been incredibly tough for star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to watch the ongoing Champions Trophy matches from the sidelines. However, he emphasized that this is the nature of top-level sports. Pant has not been included in the playing XI for the last two group games, with KL Rahul taking over the wicket-keeping duties. Rahul has performed exceptionally well behind the stumps and added stability to the middle order.
"It’s been very hard on Rishabh not playing, but that’s the nature of sport at this level," ten Doeschate told reporters on Friday when asked about having two quality wicketkeepers in the squad. "KL has been good. He didn’t get many chances… we’ve got to keep Rishabh up and running. We never know when we’re going to need him. But certainly, having two wicketkeepers of that caliber is a nice thing to have."
Ten Doeschate also suggested that Sunday’s match against New Zealand could turn into a battle of spin between the two sides. "They (New Zealand) have four spinners as well, so it could be a contest of spin. Coming into the competition, we weren’t expecting such an over-reliance on spin. But the guys have bowled nicely, and the pitch has helped a little bit, so I’m sure it’s going to be the same for the next game here tomorrow," he said.
The South Africa-born former Dutch cricketer hinted that India might make some changes to the bowling attack for their final group match against New Zealand. However, he stressed that the team would not compromise on balance, as they also aim to top the group with an all-win preliminary campaign. New Zealand has already qualified for the semifinals with two wins, and Sunday’s match will determine the Group A leader.
"We’ve had two pretty tough training sessions, so that’s been the preparation. In terms of bench strength, I think the priority is making sure that we have our best guys available and fully fit for the second game (semifinal on March 4)," ten Doeschate said. "But we also don’t want to rest them for another two days. So, to get that balance right, we might just try to share the bowling out a little bit. But we obviously want to win against New Zealand as well. It’s important that we keep that momentum going and top the group. So, the balance of those two things needs to be thought about in the selection," he added.
Regarding captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness after an injury scare in the game against Pakistan, ten Doeschate said, "He’s all right. You can see he’s batting a little bit further than earlier. It’s an injury he’s had before, so he knows how to manage it really well."
When asked if scoring has been difficult on the pitch, he replied, "I won’t say difficult. I think we’ve become used to a standard where you score 320 without thinking too much about it. So, getting to 320 has been difficult. The pitch has played slightly differently, in my opinion, in those two games. But there are probably 280-290 pitches if you bat really well. So, in the bigger picture, it’s not like playing in Pakistan, where you expect to get 320-330. But you’ve got to adapt yourself and get a score that’s good on these wickets. And we think it’s right about 280-290, judging by the first two pitches."
The India assistant coach also expressed satisfaction with the amount of rest his players have had since their last game against Pakistan on February 23. "They’ve had a lot of rest now. But it’s about how you back the two games up. So, if all the seamers are going to bowl 10 overs, and then say we bowl second in the first game, we’re bowling 36 hours later, we’re bowling first—that’s quite a workload. So, that’s what I was alluding to. One of the options is to make sure the guys don’t bowl their full quota of overs if that opportunity allows itself. But we’re ready to manage that in the field and try to keep the guys as fresh as possible for the semifinal and the final," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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