"Won't be a bad idea" - Former India cricketer doesn't want Rishabh Pant to keep wickets in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former cricketer Dodda Ganesh believes Rishabh Pant should not keep wickets in India's second Test of the ongoing five-match away Test series against England. He opined that it would be a good idea for Pant to play as a pure batter in the upcoming encounter.

The 51-year-old suggested that India should bring in Dhruv Jurel into the playing XI as a designated wicketkeeper. Proposing a suggestion to take some load off Pant's shoulders, here's what Ganesh wrote on the microblogging platform X:

"Won’t be a bad idea to hand over the wicket keeping duties to Jurel and play Pant as a pure batter. Thoughts?"

Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant was the top performer with the bat in the side's recently concluded Test series opener against England at Headingley, Leeds. He became the first Indian wicketkeeper to hit twin centuries in a Test, registering scores of 134 and 118.

However, his heroics ultimately went in vain as England clinched an emphatic five-wicket victory. The hosts recorded the 10th highest fourth-innings run chase in Test cricket, going past the 371-run target on Day 5.

Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel was part of the India A side that played two unofficial Tests against England Lions ahead of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He looked in fine batting form in the two games.

Jurel finished with scores of 94 and 53* in the first fixture, while he scored 53 and 28 in the second contest. The stumper made his Test debut in February 2024 and has 202 runs to his name across six innings at an average of 40.40.

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"In Tests, your body gets tired" - Ravichandran Ashwin urges Rishabh Pant to avoid his somersault celebration

Rishabh Pant dazzled fans by doing a somersault after hitting a century in Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) final league match of the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL). He remained unbeaten on 118 off 61 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

He brought the celebration back after crossing the 100-run mark in the first innings of the Test series opener against England as well. However, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urged the wicketkeeper not to perform the somersault in the red-ball format.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin said (via The Indian Express):

"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."

England have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The second Test will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from July 2 to 6.

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Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai