Rohit Sharma reveals Rishabh Pant's role on the bench in the Champions Trophy: 'A talented batter waiting in the wings...'

Rishabh Pant, a promising youngster, is currently a key member of the Indian squad in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Despite being a regular in the Test team, his limited opportunities in the 50-over format can be attributed to KL Rahul's impressive performances with both the bat and gloves in ODIs. As captain Rohit Sharma sheds light on Pant's role in the squad for the tournament, it is evident that the young wicketkeeper-batsman will be ready to make an impact whenever called upon.

India are playing all their matches in Dubai despite the tournament being officially hosted in Pakistan and Rohit said that they had structured the larger squad to prepare for the conditions they could find. “There's a lot of cricket that has been played (in Dubai recently),” said Rohit in a press conference ahead of India's semi-final fixture against Australia.

“So, we somehow kind of knew that the surfaces are going to be slow. We were watching ILT20, which was played here. And we thought the slower bowlers will be a lot more helpful. And then we've got a batter sitting in the dugout anyway. And if we need a batter to come in, Rishabh is there for us. So, we thought with an extra option of the spin, there's always a chance that we can play those guys. So that was pretty much the thinking behind that,” said Rohit.

India don’t have an unfair advantage, says Rohit

Rohit said that India don't have an advantage over other sides in the tournament due to them playing all their matches in Dubai. The rest of the teams travelled between Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi in Pakistan and to Dubai whenever they played India in the group stage. Australia and South Africa both travelled to Dubai as they knew who would play India in the Emirate only after final group game between Rohit Sharma's side and New Zealand. South Africa are now travelling back to Lahore to face New Zealand in the second semi-final.

"No, look, the three matches we played, the nature of the surface was the same. But in all three games, the pitch has behaved differently. Today, we saw that when the bowlers were bowling, their ball was swinging a little. We didn't see that in the first two games when our bowlers were bowling. And in the evening, it's a little cold in the air. So, there are obviously a lot of chances of that swing. We know this. But the three games we played, there are four or five surfaces that are being used. So, every surface has a different nature. We don't know which wicket will be played," said Rohit.

"In the semi-final, we don't know which pitch is going to be played. Yes, we don't know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-final. But whatever happens, we have to adapt and see what is happening. We will play on that. This is not our home, this is Dubai. So, we don't play so many matches here. This is new for us too," he said.

ICC Champions Trophy , ICC Champions Trophy Schedule , and Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table – stay ahead with real-time match updates, team standings, and insights. Check live cricket score , player stats, and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Get expert analysis, match previews, and in-depth coverage of ICC CT 2025, IPL 2025 Schedule and IPL 2025, all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times – your trusted source for cricket news along with India vs New Zealand Live Score. .freemium-card h4{color:#fff; padding-bottom:20px;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{padding-bottom:16px; color:#fff;} .freemium-card .freemium-content{width: auto; max-width: inherit;} .freemium-card .freemium-content .subcTxt{max-width:inherit; font-size:18px; padding-top:0; line-height:24px} .freemium-card .btnSubc{margin} .freemium-card .btnSubc a{background:#000; color:#fff; min-width:auto; padding:5px 15px; border-radius:6px; font-size:16px; line-height:22px; font-weight:700;} .freemium-card{height:285px} @media (max-width: 767px) { .freemium-card h4{font-size:28px} .freemium-card .freemium-content{max-width:360px; padding: 20px;} .freemium-card{height:303px; background-position: 100% 0; } }