Former Indian national cricket team player Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that the Indian team will surely miss the services of dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant in the upcoming Test series against South Africa.

India’s tour of South Africa 2023-24 consists of a three-match T20I series, a three-match ODI series and a two-match Test series. The tour will begin with a three-match T20I series to be played on December 10, 12 and 14 in Durban, Gqeberha and Johannesburg.

The teams will then face each other in a three-match ODI series to be played on December 17, 19 and 21 in Johannesburg, Gqeberha and Paarl. The Men in Blue and the Proteas will then play two test matches to conclude the series with the first test starting on December 26 in Centurion. The second and final test will be held from January 3 in Cape Town.

Rishabh Pant, considered one of the best batsmen and wicketkeepers in the world, especially in red-ball cricket, has been out of action since last December. Pant was involved in a tragic car accident and suffered multiple injuries. He has started training and is expected to recover in time for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.

Overall, Pant has represented India in 33 Test matches and has scored 2,271 runs at an average of 43.7 and a strike rate of 73.6.

If India bats well, they will win the series – Sanjay Manjrekar

Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Game Plan’ show, Sanjay Manjrekar said that the return of Rohit Sharma to the Test team, who was not in the team last time in South Africa due to his injury, is a good sign. He added that India will miss Pant in the Test series. Sanjay Manjrekar stated:

“It’s good to see Rohit Sharma back. The last time India was in South Africa playing Test matches, he was not available. KL Rahul was the captain and he scored a hundred. In fact, two guys scored hundreds on that tour: KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Pant is going to be a big mistake.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that the Indian batting unit will be tested in South African conditions in the absence of veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who have been dropped. Manjrekar hopes Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer will rise to the occasion and deliver as he feels batting well will be key to India’s success.

“I am going to insist only on one aspect. The Indian batting will be tested without the experience of (Cheteshwar) Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. People like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer have to rise to the occasion. If India bats well, they will win the series,” he added.

India Team for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd . Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.