Cricket News

Wasim Jaffer feels that Rishabh Pant should open in T20Is

Rishabh Pant is considered to be one of the rising stars of Indian cricket. The keeper-batter has made a name for himself with his marvellous performances in Test and ODI cricket. However, the one particular format the southpaw hasn’t been able to master is the shortest format of the game. Despite being given many opportunities in T20Is, Pant just hasn’t been able to do justice to his talent.

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has suggested that the team should send Pant to open the innings in T20Is as that’s the spot he feels where he can blossom. Jaffer took to Twitter to share his suggestion with his followers.

“Indian think tank should think about opening with Rishabh Pant in T20Is. I think that’s the spot where he can blossom. #ENGvIND” read Wasim Jaffer’s Tweet.

Indian think tank should think about opening with Rishabh Pant in T20Is. I think that's the spot where he can blossom. #ENGvIND

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 6, 2022

In the 42 innings in which he has batted in T20Is, the southpaw has scored 741 runs at an average of 23.15 with 3 fifties to his name. The explosive batter had a horrible time in the Indian T20 league 2022 as well, as he didn’t register even a single half-century to his name. Pant’s performance drew even more scrutiny during the recently-concluded T20 series against South Africa as he was also the captain of the side. He once again disappointed with the bat with a string of low scores throughout the series.

India are already preparing Ishan Kishan as the third opener besides Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Kishan is making giant strides to seal the opening spot having scored 4 half-centuries in 17 innings with an average of 32 and a strike rate of 134 in T20Is.

Pant is also facing stiff competition from other wicketkeepers in the rank such as Dinesh Karthik and Sanju Samson. Karthik is in the form of his life making big statements with his remarkable performances in the Indian T20 league and the recently concluded South Africa series. Samson also grabbed the opportunity with both hands against Ireland smashing 77 off 42 balls. Fans are always unhappy with the team management for giving Pant more chances as compared to Samson.

The reason for the team management for sticking with Pant is his performance in the other two formats especially Test cricket where he’s flourishing as a batsman with every passing year. It will be interesting to see how long do the selectors stick with the swashbuckling batsman despite him not impressing anyone with his performance in T20Is.