After losing the two-match Test series to New Zealand, India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday defended wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant's selection in the playing XI ahead of Wriddhiman Saha. Pant was preferred over Saha in both the Test matches against the Kiwis and only managed to score 60 runs, with his highest score being 25 in the second innings of the first Test. "We have given a lot of chances to Rishabh, you need to figure out when is the right time to give someone a chance. I don't see anyone taking their place for granted in this team, no one here has come in thinking that I am going to play every game," Kohli told reporters after the conclusion of the two-match Test series.

"Rishabh has worked very hard behind the scenes, so we thought of giving him a chance in this series. We thought he will come good in this series, but as a collective unit, we did not show a good batting performance," he added. In the series, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara also did not do too well. However, Kohli said that one cannot blame any individual.