Team India supporters are ripping into Rishabh Pant for his continuing failures in limited-overs cricket as he was dismissed cheaply in the first ODI against New Zealand on Friday. Not only the Men in Blue lost the match by seven wickets, but Rishabh Pant too could only make 15 runs in the contest.

It was his third successive below-par performance during the tour of New Zealand after single-digit scores in the last two T20Is.

As he couldn't go past 15 at Eden Park, fans took to social media to troll him for his disappointing displays on the pitch. While some dubbed him a fraud others called him a scam.

 

Earlier, India allrounder Reetinder Sodhi ripped into Rishabh Pant, calling him a “liability” in the national side's T20I set-up following his twin failures in the T20I series against New Zealand. India won the three-match series 1-0.

“He is becoming a liability for Team India. If it's like this, then bring in Sanju Samson. End of the day, you got to take that chance because you cannot afford to lose and exit in World Cup or ICC tournaments. When you give too many chances, problems arise. The time has come to provide opportunities to new guys,” Reetinder Sodhi told Sportskeeda.

“Only time will tell how many opportunities and how long he gets. Time is passing and he really has to tighten his shoes. Everything has a limit. You cannot depend on one player for so long. If he is not performing, you got to show him the exit door,” Reetinder Sodhi said further.

“We all know Rishabh Pant is a match-winner, but you don't score runs. You don't help win your team. You got the opportunity in an important event like World Cup. I accept that initially, he didn't get the opportunity, but whenever you get a chance, your job is to perform, which has not happened. It's time that selectors think beyond him,” Reetinder Sodhi pointed out.

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Reetinder Sodhi's scathing criticism of Rishabh Pant came after he flopped again in T20Is, this time in the final game of the three-match series against New Zealand in Napier.

Opening the batting for India, Rishabh Pant only managed to score 11 runs off 5 balls before being sent back by Tim Southee at McLean Park. His second consecutive failure in the series was after he was dismissed for 6 from 13 deliveries in Mount Maunganui.

Overall, the left-hand batter has made 364 runs in 21 innings this year. Moreover, his runs have come at a disappointing average of 21.41 with only a single fifty to his name.

Meanwhile, Sanju Samson has accumulated 179 runs in five T20I knocks in 2022. Unlike Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson has scored his runs at a healthy average of 44.75. He last donned an India jersey in August when the national team was on a tour of the West Indies.

On the other hand, former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim said that Rishabh Pant has got plenty of opportunities. While the team management still believes that he's a prodigious talent in every format of the game, he hasn't delivered in T20Is.

“Rishabh Pant has been tried at different positions because he has failed to deliver on those particular spots. The team management still believes he has an incredible talent to perform in T20 cricket,” Saba Karim told India News.

“This situation wouldn't have arrived if they had played him in a particular position. He has got plenty of opportunities. I think it's time for a lot of discussions,” Saba Karim signed off.

Similar sentiments were shared by former India batter Aakash Chopra who said that because Rishabh Pant was currently serving as the vice-captain of the side, he may not be dropped in the next few games.

“As of now everyone believes that he (Pant) is a special player, extremely talented, is an X-factor kind of cricketer, but he hasn't lived up to the reputation in white-ball cricket thus far,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“In Tests, today also Rishabh Pant is not only India's but the world's best wicketkeeper-batter. Not many top-order batters have played more dynamic and impactful knocks than him, forget about a keeper. But the truth is that he has not done that good a job in ODIs and T20s considering the opportunities he has got,” said the former India opener.

“You have made him the vice-captain currently. Now that you have done that, you will give him two more opportunities in the team. You will ask him to play but what after that? That is a big question,” Aakash Chopra added.

“God forbid, if this series is also not good, Rishabh Pant is still part of the team for the next series, but after that the selectors will have to start thinking until when they can stick with him or if they should start moving in a different direction,” he concluded.