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India's head coach Gautam Gambhir made it clear that KL Rahul is team's first-choice wicketkeeper going into the Champions Trophy and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant is not being considered as an option in the playing eleven in the immediate future. Among all the players that were chosen for the England ODIs, only Pant wasn't given a start by the head coach as all the others got at least one game if not three. Rahul, who initially batted at No. 6 in the first two games, didn't look comfortable and fared far better at the familiar No. 5 position with a useful 40 off 29 balls in India's one-sided 142-run victory in the third ODI here. "Ultimately, it is very difficult to talk about individuals. But all I can say is that if he is part of the squad, when time comes, he might get an opportunity. But at the moment, obviously, KL is the No 1 wicketkeeper and he has delivered for us," Gambhir told media persons at the series-ending press conference. "When you've got two wicket keepers in the .
Indian spin legend R Ashwin feels Rishabh Pant will score a century in every game if the maverick India wicketkeeper-batter is able to curb his extravagance and impetuosity as he has got "one of the best defences" in world cricket. Hailing Pant's ability to singlehandedly turn a match on its head, Ashwin said a lot of his shots are high-risk, something that is not allowing him to realise his full potential. Pant scored the second-fastest Test fifty by an Indian during the fifth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney recently, after a hard-fought 40 in the first innings of the same game. "We have to tell him properly what he has to do if he has to bat solid or bat with intent. He hasn't scored a lot of runs, but he didn't play like someone without runs. He has a lot of time on his hands. Rishabh Pant is yet to realise his fullest potential," said Ashwin on his Youtube channel. "He has all the shots -- reverse sweep, slog sweep, everything -- but the problem