Pant not ready for number six in Australia, opines Anil Kumble

Tags: India tour of Australia 2018-19, India, Australia, Anil Kumble, Rishabh Rajendra Pant

Published on: Dec 03, 2018

Former India coach Anil Kumble believes that Virat Kohli is not a finished product as captain and also that Rishabh Pant is not suited to bat at number six at this point in his career.

Former India coach Anil Kumble believes that Virat Kohli is not a finished product as captain and also that Rishabh Pant is not suited to bat at number six at this point in his career.

In an exclusive interview to CNN-News 18, Kumble said, "I don't think any captain or any players is a finished product. I mean you're constantly learning and I'm sure Virat is also constantly learning from all the experiences that he's had in South Africa and also in England.

You spoke about the key moments, that's something he'll have to grab on the field. He needs to identify that and possibly India got a bit complacent when they pick up to 5-6 early wickets,” Kumble further told CNN-News 18.

Discussing about Rishabh Pant, he told the channel he doesn’t feel the wicket-keeper batsman is number six material yet, and that Ravichandran Ashwin could be a better choice.

"No (not Pant) that's why I thought when Ashwin moved up the batting order to number six, India should've persisted with that. I certainly believe that Ashwin is someone who can contribute at that position, especially when India travel abroad. Even in the last series, Ashwin batted really well,” Kumble went on to say.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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