Gautam Gambhir slams Rohit Sharma's team selection vs Hong Kong, says 'if you are playing Rishabh Pant..'

Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir feels replacing Hardik Pandya with Rishabh Pant in the playing XI vs Hong Kong was not the best decision taken by captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (August 31). He did not say that Pant should not be in the playing XI, he said that if Pant is picked, he should be picked in place of Dinesh Karthik. Gambhir said that if Hardik is rested, then Deepak Hooda should have been picked in his place and not Pant.   

"If you are playing Rishabh Pant then it should have been in place of Dinesh Karthik. If you are resting Hardik Pandya then Deepak Hooda should have played," Gambhir was speaking to Star Sports anchor Mayanti Langer ahead of the India vs Hong Kong clash in Asia Cup. 

Gambhir added that Pant has done well in Tests and he has just begun to do well in white-ball cricket for India. He said that he should be given a long run in white ball games. He added that he should go to T20 World Cup 2022 ahead of Rishabh Pant and not Dinesh Karthik as he is a left-handed batter and has experience of playing in Australia, where he has done very well. 

There has been a big depate in recent times over Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant that who should be India's first choice wicketkeeper in the shortest format of the game. The debate used to be earlier between Pant and Ishan Kishan but things changed after IPL 2022 where Karthik played some outstanding knocks and became a big contender for a slot in the Indian team. 

Deepak Hooda too has taken a huge leap since IPL. He has proven his worth in the team with a fantastic 100 vs Ireland recently. Gambhir is a big fan of Deepak and that is why he picked him in his Lucknow Super Giants squad earlier this year.