Former India cricketer lashes on Rishabh Pant for his poor form
Rishabh Pant (Image Credit: Twitter)
India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is going through a rough patch with the bat in T20I cricket. Since June this year, he hasn’t been able to hit a fifty in the format. This was the reason he didn’t feature in India’s playing XI regularly during Men’s Asia Cup 2022 and the 20-20 World Cup 2022 this year. In the recently-concluded T20I series against New Zealand, the left-hander’s poor form continued.
In the ODI game against the same team, the former India U19 struggled too. Meanwhile, former India cricket Aakash Chopra has been critical of the wicketkeeper batter’s form. He said that Pant is the vice-captain of the team which is why he won’t be dropped for the rest of the series. However, the former Test player added that if Pant’s poor form continues, the time to take a call will come soon.
“The selectors have named him [Pant] as the vice-captain. Since he’s Dhawan’s deputy, he will be given two more chances in the series. But what will happen after that? That’s a big question. Even if he doesn’t play well, then it will be time to take a call on him. Should we continue with him or start moving ahead?” Chopra said in his latest YouTube video.
Rishabh Pant hasn’t lived up to his reputation in the white-ball format: Aakash Chopra
The former Kolkata player in the Indian T20 League further added that Pant hasn’t lived up to his reputation in the limited-overs format. Chopra feels that Pant has done well in Tests but not in ODIs and T20Is.
What’s happening now is everybody is looking at him as a special player, a talented one who has the X-Factor. But in the white ball format, he hasn’t lived up to the reputation thus far. In Tests, even at the present, he is the best wicketkeeper batter not just in India but across the globe. Only the top-order batters have played terrific innings like him. But it’s also a fact that he hasn’t done well in ODIs and T20Is to justify the opportunities he has been given. Though he is a part of the next tour [Bangladesh] as well if he doesn’t perform then selectors will have to think about him,” he added.
