‘Where do you fit in a Rishabh Pant?’ – Dinesh Karthik explains star batter’s role in Indian T20I setup
Rishabh Pant‘s place in the Indian T20I setup has been brought into question for his lack of form in recent times. While Pant has become a bigger name in Test cricket as a result of his hundreds in Australia and England, and to some extent in ODIs, he is struggling to find a spot in the shortest format.
He only made a few appearances in the most recent 20-20 World Cup, with India preferring Dinesh Karthik over him. With the tournament over and India looking to get back on track, Karthik shared his thoughts on where Pant should bat in T20Is.
Speaking to Cricbuzz on Friday during the washed-out first T20I in Wellington, Karthik admitted that India has found it difficult to fit in Pant due to the presence of batters such as Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya in the lineup. He has to bat down the order, which he rarely does, or bat up the order, which he rarely does.
“When it comes to Rishabh Pant, I think he has sealed his spot in Test cricket and to a large extent in ODI cricket as well. In T20s, he bats in a different position for his franchise and comes in a different spot in the Indian team and they are trying to figure out where to fit him. When you have Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, where do you fit in a Rishabh Pant? We do need a left-hander, but where do we play him? We know what Kohli does at No.3. Let’s not even talk about Suryakumar Yadav, he’s the best in the business in the world,” he said.
He can go gung-ho in the powerplay: Dinesh Karthik
Karthik believes Pant should open for India because he prefers to bat when the field is up during the powerplay and his career strike rate is far higher against new balls than it is in the middle or late innings. He also urged management to be patient with the youngster and to support him despite early setbacks.
“Immediately we come down to Pant at No.5. Do we want him to bat there or let see if we can give him the opportunity to open. Because we know one think for sure, his ability to play shots. And when the field is up, he can go gung-ho in the powerplay so we can give him the opportunity to open. Interestingly, his strike rate is highest when he opens. He likes the field up, he likes to take on bowlers and put them under pressure. He is second to none when it comes to stroke play and has baffled a lot of international bowlers of high pedigree. We need to embrace the fact that there will be a few failures from him, but he is a terrific player,” he added.
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