Former Indian cricketer Dodda Ganesh believes it won’t be a bad idea to give the wicket-keeping duties to Dhruv Jurel and play Rishabh Pant purely as a batter in the second Test match against England. After scoring a brilliant knock of 134 runs in the first innings, Pant backed it with another hundred in the second essay. The left-hander scored a majestic knock of 118 runs off 140 balls and added 195 runs with KL Rahul, who scored 137 runs.

This was Pant’s eighth Test century as he continues to impress in the red-ball version. Pant is the first Indian batter to score twin centuries in a Test match in English conditions. The left-hander also became the seventh Indian batter to score two centuries in a Test match and became the second wicket-keeper after Andy Flower to score hundreds in each innings of a Test.

Furthermore, Pant kept the wickets for a total of 182.4 overs in the Test match and it would be crucial for the think tank to manage his workload. 

Dodda Ganesh wrote on X, “Won’t be a bad idea to hand over the wicket keeping duties to Jurel and play Pant as a pure batter. Thoughts?”

Meanwhile, Jurel was part of India A squad for the two unofficial Test matches against England Lions. The right-hander returned with scores of 94 and 53 in the opening Test, whereas he scored 53 and 28 in the second game.

On the other hand, former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urged Rishabh Pant to avoid his somersault celebration, which he did after reaching his century in the first innings.

Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “I’ve only one request (to Rishabh Pant), please don’t do that front flip. In Tests, your body gets tired unlike in IPL where you will not play more than 50-60 balls. He is a bona fide top batter in the Indian lineup. So he has nothing to prove.”

The second Test match between India and England will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 2nd onwards.