India vs Pakistan, World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant arrives in Manchester, shares a smile with Chacha Chicago
World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant arrived in England as cover for injured Shikhar Dhawan and the wicket-keeper batsman enjoyed his time in the city with the Karachi-born cricket fanatic, Chacha Chicago.
In Short
- Rishabh Pant was named as cover for Shikhar Dhawan who sustained an injury during the Australia match
- Rishabh Pant arrived in Manchester on June 14 ahead of India vs Pakistan clash
- India will face Pakistan at Old Trafford on June 16 (Sunday)
Wicket-keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who was named as the cover for injured opener Shikhar Dhawan, has arrived in Manchester, England ahead of the marquee clash between India and Pakistan at Old Trafford, on June 16.
Rishabh Pant posted a story on his Instagram account on Friday and captioned it as "Afternoon tea" and marked the location as Manchester, UK.
Rishabh Pant was not named in India's 15-man squad for the World Cup 2019 but the young batsman was called up to England in the middle of tournament after regular India opener Shikhar Dhawan suffered an injury.
Dhawan fractured his thumb after being hit by a Pat Cummins' bouncer during his match-winning 117 in India's 2nd match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup against Australia at The Oval on Sunday.
Following which, he had been ruled out of the India's matches against New Zealand (June 13), Pakistan (June 16) and Afghanistan (June 22).
After arriving in Manchester, Rishabh Pant also met the famous Karachi-born cricket fanatic Mohammad Bashir aka 'Chacha Chicago'.
Look who's here #TeamIndia #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/V4y27pBYOC BCCI (@BCCI) June 15, 2019
Mohammad Bashir shares a unique bond with MS Dhoni as the former India captain has been arranging a match ticket for the cricket fan for every India-Pakistan clash since last 8 years.
Bashir's love for his homeland is understandable but the reason for his affinity towards India is his Hyderbadi wife.
Not only has Bashir flown into Manchester from Chicago (a distance of approximately 6000 km) for Sunday's high-octane Indo-Pak contest but the cricket fan is also carrying a bag full of rose petals to shower on the Indian cricketers when they arrive in Manchester.
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