Rishabh Pant, the youngster who has become the first choice wicketkeeper in absence of MS Dhoni, has been facing a lot of criticisms for his rough patch with the bat. Although he was in good shape before the series. He hit his first ball in Test cricket for six before becoming the first Indian wicket-keeper to hit two centuries in SENA countries.

However, recently head coach Ravi Shastri also criticised his batting and said he needs to bat carefully and also said that Rishabh Pant’s careless batting letting the team down. Even the chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad also said that they are keeping an eye on other wicket-keeper batsmen as well like Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, K.S. Bharat etc. who might suppress the workload of Pant. However, former players came in support of Rishabh Pant.

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“I cannot believe that there is so much talk around a guy who has two Test hundreds away from India and who can play impactful innings. T20 can sometimes get you into trouble because you have to play shots and the ball was there to be hit, only the execution was not probably to what he would have liked,” said Ajit Agarkar in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.

Agarkar also suggested some changes in the line-up. He suggested India drop Pant down the order and allow the likes of Shreyas Iyer to bat above him.

“You also need to decide what you need from him. Do you want him to be a number 4 batsman who bats through the innings or you want him to be that impactful player and you are ready for those sorts of dismissals? But there is too much talk of it. Maybe Shreyas Iyer, who has shown some good form, can come at No.4 and Pant could be dropped down the order and be asked to play freely.” he further added.