ICC World Cup 2019 | Rishabh Pant makes his World Cup debut after Vijay Shankar suffers toe niggle

Social media was abuzz with the call for the inclusion of Rishabh Pant, who has made a name for himself through his immaculate hitting prowess in the Indian Premier League, and Virat Kohli finally obliged the call by including him in the playing XI for the game against England in Birmingham. 

Vijay Shankar was under fire for his performance in the last two games and he looked like he didn’t belong to the stage in those short innings. That frustrated the Indians considering his failure was contributing to the middle-order collapse, more often than not. 

Pant’s inclusion has also added a power-hitting factor to the Indian team, which has largely burdened Hardik Pandya in the previous encounters. The Delhi batsman has, so far, played five ODIs for India, scoring a total of 93 runs at an average of 23.20. 

"Never a problem.. Love chasing. But honestly we would have batted first today. We haven't focused on the opposition in this tournament, that's why we have been successful. We do have one change. Vijay Shankar has a toe niggle, Rishabh Pant is in," Virat Kohli said at the toss, reported Cricbuzz.

While the game is very much important for England to stay alive in the World Cup, India will also want to win the game so as to secure their position as the top of the table.