Dravid throws his weight behind Pant

BENGALURU: Rahul Dravid has made it clear that the under-fire Rishabh Pant is a “big” and “integral” part of the India set-up heading into the T20 World Cup. Pant, who led India in the five-match series against South Africa that ended in a 2-2 draw, managed only 58 runs in five innings, numbers that led to some questions being raised about his place in the eleven. However, Dravid was very clear that Pant is going nowhere.

“Personally, he would have liked to score a few more runs but it (lack of runs) is not concerning him. Certainly, he is a very big part of our plans going ahead in the next few months,” Dravid said. “I just do not want to be critical. In the middle overs, you need people to play slightly attacking brand of cricket, to take the game on a little more. Sometimes, it is very hard to judge based on two or three games,” the head coach said.