Asia Cup 2022: Should Team India look beyond Rishabh Pant in T20?
The T20 format is one of the most ruthless formats of the game. It is one format that tests players' consistency and form like no other due to less time available to adjust and the need to deliver a class performance in that span
Image credit: pia.images.co.uk Rishabh PantIt requires batters to be quick, especially those who bat in the middle order. The batters coming at this place are usually expected to be quick with their decision on when they need to drop anchor and attack opponent bowlers. And that is what makes this spot crucial, as players coming in the middle are strong enough to accelerate the innings for their teams.
Rishabh Pant is one such player who kept potential for this but cannot make the most of this opportunity. His unorthodox big-hitting capabilities made him one of the best fits as a wicketkeeper and middle-order batter for team India across all the formats. The batter has conquered the most challenging design, i.e., the Test match looks to be struggling in the shortest format.
In the two Asia cup matches played, the batter could fetch just 14 and 17 runs as he never looked comfortable on the crease. Unsure of how he should proceed with his game, he ends up playing a shot not needed, landing him lose his wicket. His shot selection raised many questions as he failed to understand the field set for him, thus, giving away an easy wicket to his opponents.
He even missed quite an opportunity of stumping and defending runs from behind the wickets against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, which made fans reminisce how MS Dhoni used to turn games from behind the stumps.
Daniel Vettori once said, "He (Pant) hasn't got his tempo right in T20 cricket. He hasn't quite understood his role. Sometimes he is overly cautious; then he is reckless. The reality is, if he doesn't, they can look elsewhere. They have Ishan Kishan and KL can keep wickets as well in T20."
Having played 57 T20I matches, he has 914 runs, averaging 23.43. Considering the attacking and high-risk approach that India has adopted for the T20 format and considering the low average, his strike rate of 126.24 also fails to justify his presence in the playing XI. This strike rate is extremely low, knowing that he bats in the second half of a T20I innings where power-hitters of other nations play with a strike rate of over 180-plus
His average of 15.50 in the Asia Cup raises questions on whether he should be kept as the first-choice wicketkeeper batter for the T20 World Cup. Other decent options are available in the form of Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan and will highly depend on the call that Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma take. A tough call is expected if they want to lift the trophy in the upcoming mega event.
Will India continue with their left-arm batter in the middle, or will they be seen addressing their problem of death overs in the next match against Afghanistan?
Follow all of today's Cricket matches on our Live Match Centre