Mumbai: BCCI chief selector M.S.K. Prasad on Sunday insisted that the management wants to groom young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who has been included in all the three squads for the upcoming tour to the West Indies.
Pant will be India's lone wicketkeeper in the limited-overs leg of the West Indies tour while in the Test series, he will be joined by Wriddhiman Saha, who has been brought back following his full recovery since suffering an injury during the tour of South Africa in 2018.
The selection committee has also granted M.S. Dhoni his request for a break for West Indies tour. Dhoni had made himself unavailable for the tour as he decided to take a two month break and serve his army regiment. Dhoni is an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army.
"He (Dhoni) is unavailable for this series. We had certain roadmaps till World Cup and we subsequently have some plans and we want to groom Pant and that is the plan right now. Pant hasn't done anything wrong for his non-inclusion in the playing XI," said Prasad while announcing the squad.
"Rishabh Pant will be playing all the three formats so we will have to look about his workload management. Saha and KS Bharat will come into picture at some point.
"In the longer format, KS Bharat was very, very close to get selected. We have an unwritten norm when a senior cricketer is injured, he should get a comeback opportunity. That's what we have given to Saha," said Prasad.
The BCCI chief selector further said that the squads for the West Indies tour have been announced keeping in consideration the performances of the players who are playing for India 'A' in the Caribbean Islands.
