‘Leaving him is a pointless decision’ – Fans Show Disappointment After Rishabh Pant Misses Out From The Playing XI Against Pakistan

On 28 August 2022, India kicked off their Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan. Both the teams came off winning an ODI series. However, for India, big-name players will be in action after taking some rest from the recent series. Speaking of the squads, both teams dealt with major blows ahead of the tournament.

Jasprit Bumrah will not be a part of this event due to his back injury. On the other hand, Shaheen Shah Afridi will also miss this tournament due to his knee injury. Along with him, Mohammad Wasim Jr. also missed the Asia Cup due to his side strain. Meanwhile, Pakistan brought Hasan Ali and Hasnain back into the final squad as replacements.

India picked Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022

Speaking of the match, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss. He opted to field first. But, he shared the shocking news for fans during the toss. He said that Rishabh Pant was not picked for the final playing XI. India picked veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik ahead of Pant. However, this decision came out of shock as Pant has performed well in the recent series. India was fully expected to choose Rishabh Pant in their playing XI.

On the other side, Pakistan handed a T20I debut to Naseem Shah. They showed faith in this young sensational pacer ahead of this mega clash. But the decision regarding Pant did not go well with fans at all. They came out to show their anger and disappointment. They also shared support for Rishabh Pant.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh

Pakistan playing XI: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani

Here is how fans have reacted to this exclusion of Rishabh Pant from the playing XI against Pakistan:

Leaving #RishabhPant out is not bold decision ,this is a pointless decision #INDvPAK #AsiaCup2022 @cricketaakash pic.twitter.com/Mn6YqjzV7A

— Shoeb शोएब شوعيب (@themdshoeb) August 28, 2022

https://twitter.com/Dheeraj5001/status/1563888177529892864

#RishabhPant went from leading team India in ain all recent T20s to out of the time. Very odd play #DK ahead of him. #INDvsPAK

— Syed Majeed (@syed_s_majeed) August 28, 2022

Unacceptable from the selection commission and selectors of @BCCI ..#RishabhPant #AsiaCup2022 #INDvPAK

— Gaurav Gupta (@gauravG_017) August 28, 2022

You are champion bro @RishabhPant17 #RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/q0DT2409wU

— Vɪsʜᴀʟ (@PankharV) August 28, 2022

You are missed #RishabhPant , not from the bottom of our hearts but we are

— Critics&All (@CriticsAll1) August 28, 2022

#AsiaCup2022 #INDvPAK #RishabhPant pic.twitter.com/qi92ZmD3CD

— Raghul (@Im_Raghul15) August 28, 2022

Dinesh Karthik picked over Rishabh pant as wicketkeeper#INDvPAK #AsiaCup2022 #RishabhPant #DineshKarthik

— Vinit Singh (@vinit_kr_singh) August 28, 2022