Suresh Raina picks 3 Indian youngsters who impress him; describes why Rishabh Pant misses out

The current group of youngsters in Team India is massively talented and skillful. Be it playing at the international level or the world’s most toughest T20 tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL), the young brigade has proven their dexterity and impressed one and all.

Many experts and senior cricketers around the globe praise the future stars of Indian cricket for the utmost level of consistency shown by them in different stages of various competitions. Following the trend, former India cricketer Suresh Raina has picked three such Indian cricketers, who have impressed him the most.

Raina named Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opener Devdutt Padikkal, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Ruturaj Gaikwad and Team India’s new bowling sensation Axar Patel as three players who are his favourite when it comes to the emerging list of cricketers.

“I think Devdutt Padikkal from Karnataka. After him, Ruturaj Gaikwad from Maharashtra. He is a gun player. Axar Patel has worked really hard, and he performed brilliantly well in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja,” Raina told News24.

However, one name that didn’t feature in Raina’s list was of Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant. The Delhi-lad has been in a different zone altogether since Australia’s tour earlier this year. Pant has been performing consistently across the formats and even captained Delhi Capitals (DC) quite magnificently in IPL 2021.

When asked about why Raina did not pick Pant’s name, he explained the reason behind doing so. The Ghaziabad-born was of the opinion that Pant has grown as a cricketer; hence, he can’t be taken as a youngster anymore.

“See, he has entered the senior category. He’s grown. He is also hitting fours now and not only sixes,” elucidated Raina.

Currently, Pant is in United Kingdom (UK) along with other Team India players for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, starting in the first week of August. This series is also a part of the second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23.

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