'Does Vaibhav Sooryavanshi want to play Test cricket?'

Former India batter Suresh Raina has confidently backed Rishabh Pant to achieve significant success in white-ball cricket, while also advocating for young talents like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Test cricket.

Key Points

Suresh Raina hails Rishabh Pant as his “favourite player” and predicts future white-ball success.
Pant has excelled in Test cricket but seeks to establish himself in India’s ODI and T20I squads.
Raina advocates for young talent like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to pursue Test cricket.
The former India batter questions the emphasis placed on Test cricket by IPL franchises and state associations.
Raina also believes Abhishek Sharma has the potential for Test cricket.

Former India batter Suresh Raina said Rishabh Pant is his ‘favourite player’ and is confident that the India wicketkeeper-batter will do well in white-ball cricket in the future. He also backed the young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to play Test cricket in the future but is not sure if his coaches or IPL team owners want him to pursue red-ball cricket at this stage of his career.

Raina backed Pant to achieve success in white-ball formats for India and also in the IPL, while continuing his strong form in Tests.

Raina’s Confidence In Rishabh Pant

“He has worked hard. I am very happy. Everyone does well, but he is one of the best. He is my favourite player. He is scoring a lot in Tests. He has that X-factor. I think he will mature in white-ball cricket and IPL as well. He has done really well,” Raina said on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube show.

Pant has established himself as a key member of India’s Test set-up but has struggled to find a place in India’s ODI and T20I teams in the last two years. He has amassed 3,725 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 43.82, including eight centuries and 21 half-centuries.

India, led by Shubman Gill, secured a 1-0 victory in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka last month. Pant scored 168 runs across three innings at an impressive average of 56.00, including two half-centuries.

Pant last featured for India in T20Is against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on July 28, 2024, while his most recent ODI appearance came against the same opposition in Colombo on August 7, 2024.

Nurturing Young Talent For Test Cricket

Raina, who was part of India’s ODI World Cup winning team in 2011, believes explosive opener Abhishek Sharma can do well in Test cricket.

But the left-hander questioned if the IPL team owners and state associations are putting the longest format of the game in players’ minds, citing the example of 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who he believes is capable of graduating to the Test team in the near future.

“I feel Abhishek Sharma should play Test cricket. Vaibhav is very young. Does he want to play? What do his coaches think? These are questions. I feel he should play. Are the IPL owners and associations also thinking of this and putting Test cricket in players’ minds? Coaches also have a role here,” said Raina.

Source: www.rediff.com