Team India skipper Rishabh Pant hasn't been on fire in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, leading to severe criticism from several quarters. While the likes of Ashish Nehra, Sunil Gavaskar, and Graeme Smith have questioned his tactics as captain, others have been scathing in his remarks over his form with the bat. Though Rishabh Pant did make 29 off 16 deliveries in the first game in Delhi, he hasn't made much impression thereafter, having scored 5 and 6 in the next two matches in Cuttack and Visakhapatnam. Now two former India openers, namely Wasim Jaffer and Aakash Chopra have questioned his place in the current Indian line-up. Wasim Jaffer was the more critical of the two, claiming that his form doesn't make him a certainty for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
“Rishabh Pant is the big question. He will have to score a few more runs,” Aakash Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“He played a slightly significant knock in the first match, short but quick, which did the job but after that, he hasn't really looked the same Rishabh Pant. Interestingly, he is a class player in Tests but it keeps going up and down for him in T20s,” Chopra added.
Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer reiterated the fact that the Indian cricket team already has the likes of KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Dinesh Karthik, all of whom are wicketkeepers and can be utilised as stumpers in Australia.
Rishabh Pant's numbers in T20 internationals have long been debated in cricketing circles because the Uttarakhand-born player hasn't lived up to his reputation as a clean ball-striker in the format.
In the 46 T20I games that Rishabh Pant has played before Friday's fourth match against the Proteas in Rajkot, he has only amassed 723 runs at an average of 23.32. Rishabh Pant's figures include a low count of 3 fifties and a highest score of 65*.
“Once KL Rahul comes back, he walks into the side. He is a wicketkeeper as well. If Dinesh Karthik is certain to play, he is also a wicketkeeper,” Wasim Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo. “The way Rishabh Pant has played recently, I won't call him a certainty.”
“I think he needs to score runs and score pretty consistently. He hasn't done that in the IPL or in any T20 internationals. I have said this many times, the way he has played in Test cricket and a few ODI matches, he hasn't done that in T20Is. So I won't say that Rishabh Pant is a certainty going forward,” Jaffer further said.
“We know Pant likes to play that one way. He comes out and attacks. He's not that best whenever he rotates the strike rate, tries to play the situation. Every time we have seen him do well and win matches for India is by playing attacking cricket. He does get out, can look a bit foolish at times,” Jaffer continued.
“He needs to go through this series and find out what lies in store for him. I've said this many times that he hasn't cracked the T20 code. He's definitely done that in Test matches and ODIs. He's won Test matches for India single-handedly but he's not done that often in T20s. He needs to take up the responsibility and do the job, find a method to succeed in T20s,” Jaffer opined.
Earlier, former India speedster Ashish Nehra had shared similar views on Rishabh Pant's displays with the bat and urged him to focus on his batting.
As per Nehra, the No.4 spot is crucial for any team's chances of winning matches in T20Is. With Rishabh Pant not being able to make the position his own in the last few years, the Indians have tried other players, namely Suryakumar Yadav at second down.
“If you look at the IPL this year, Ricky Ponting had said that Rishabh Pant was very unhappy with his performances in the season. Now, Rishabh might only be 24, but he has been playing in the IPL for five years now. So, he is an experienced player now, at least in this format,” Ashish Nehra said on Cricbuzz.
“Such experiences give confidence to players. From here, he wants to be better. He's playing at the no.4 role in international cricket, and obviously, there will always be pressure on him because there's a lot of competition. Suryakumar Yadav is there, Virat Kohli will also return in future. That will happen. In this series, I would want Rishabh Pant to focus more on his batting than his batting position,” the left-arm bowler asserted.
“It (the batting position) doesn't make a big difference. How he captains, how much better can he perform.. he needs only one innings to get his mindset changed. It is important he doesn't take too much pressure upon himself. Senior players like Hardik Pandya, and even Rahul Dravid should help him there,” Ashish Nehra summed up.
Follow Us
Subscribe