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via Imago

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India have started their away tour with a bang. They registered a convincing six-wicket win in the 1st T20I against New Zealand at Auckland. With this win, the obvious question which took place was Rishabh Pant‘s return as KL Rahul has been doing a great job.

KL Rahul started keeping wickets from the last home series against Australia when Pant was out due to concussion. India tried this combination in the last two ODIs against Australia recently and it became successful as well. Rahul keeps for the Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League and for his state side Karnataka.

Not only keeping, but he has also been doing wonders with the bat as well. He came to bat in three positions in the recently-concluded ODI series and became one of those players who can be helpful at any time. His brilliance impressed the captain, Virat Kohli who said KL Rahul will keep the wickets in the ongoing series to bring a better balance to the team.

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KL Rahul on Rishabh Pant

On the other hand, his flamboyant innings raised the question of Pant’s return. During the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Rahul about Rishabh Pant’s comeback in the playing XI. To which, he responded, “It’s not up to me.

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In the game, while chasing a huge total off the 200-run mark, India lost Rohit Sharma very early. But Virat Kohli steadied the ship where Rahul took the onus on his shoulder. He took on every bowler and started hitting all over the park. His free-flowing batting allowed India to put up 65 in the PowerPlay.

However, after his dismissal, India lost Virat Kohli too. But Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey stitched another partnership and snatched the game away from the kiwis. Seeing their performance, it seemed like Rishabh Pant has lost his place. If Pandey or Shivam Dube fails to perform then Kerala batsman Sanju Samson will come who is in the squad. On the other hand, Pant got a lot of opportunities in the past in both T20Is and ODIs but he failed to do well.