Champions Trophy: It's been hard on Pant not playing - Ten Doeschate

Pant has not been included in the playing XI for the last two group matches, with KL Rahul taking over the wicketkeeping duties. Rahul has excelled behind the stumps and has been decent with the bat.

India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, acknowledged the challenge faced by wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who has been sidelined for the ongoing Champions Trophy matches. He emphasized that it’s tough for Pant to watch from the sidelines, but noted that "this is the nature of sport at this level."

 

Pant has not been included in the playing XI for the last two group matches, with KL Rahul taking over the wicketkeeping duties. Rahul has excelled behind the stumps while also providing stability to the middle order.

 

"It’s been really hard on Rishabh not being in the playing XI," Doeschate said on Friday. "But that’s the nature of sport at this level. KL has done well. He hasn’t had many opportunities, but we have to keep Rishabh ready, as we never know when we might need him. Having two quality wicketkeepers is a great luxury to have." 

 

 

Doeschate also discussed the upcoming match against New Zealand, suggesting that it could become a battle of spin between the two sides. 

 

"New Zealand has four spinners, so it could turn into a contest of spin," Doeschate explained. "We weren’t expecting such a reliance on spin coming into the competition, but the bowlers have adapted well and the pitch has offered some assistance. I expect similar conditions in our next match."

 

The former Dutch cricketer, who was born in South Africa, hinted that changes might be made to India’s bowling attack for their final group match against New Zealand. However, he assured that the team would not sacrifice balance as they aim to top Group A with an undefeated record in the preliminary rounds.

 

Both India and New Zealand have already secured their semifinal spots, with Sunday's match set to determine the Group A leader.

 

"We’ve had two intense training sessions, which have been our preparation for the match," Doeschate said. "The priority is ensuring that our key players are fit and ready for the semifinal on March 4. We also don’t want to rest them for too long, so we’ll try to balance things out, especially with the bowling attack. But, of course, we also want to win against New Zealand and maintain that momentum heading into the semifinals." 

 

Regarding captain Rohit Sharma’s fitness after an injury scare in the match against Pakistan, Doeschate reassured that he is fine. "He’s doing well. You can see he’s batting comfortably again. It’s an injury he’s dealt with before, so he knows how to manage it effectively."

 

On the question of scoring conditions on the pitch, Doeschate mentioned, "It hasn’t been difficult to score, but we’ve become accustomed to a standard where getting 320 runs seems routine. Scoring 320 has been a challenge here. The pitch has behaved a little differently in the last two games. It’s more suited for scores around 280-290 if the batting is done well. Compared to pitches like those in Pakistan, where you expect scores of 320-330, here you have to adapt. A score of 280-290 seems appropriate for these wickets."

 

The assistant coach also expressed satisfaction with the amount of rest the players have had since their last match against Pakistan on February 23. "They’ve had good rest, which is important. But managing workload is crucial. If all the seamers bowl their full 10 overs, and then we bowl 36 hours later, there’s a significant workload. One option is to ensure that players don’t bowl their entire quota if the situation allows, but we’re ready to manage that and keep the players as fresh as possible for both the first and the final," Doeschate concluded.