Former Indian selector, Saba Karim has opined that Rishabh Pant to add more value to the India T20 side with more exposure while adding that the young wicket-keeper still has to learn a lot about T20 cricket. Notably, Pant was dropped from India’s playing XI for the Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan. Pant has played 54 T20Is for India, managing 883 runs at an average of less than 25.
Talking about Pant during a chat with Sports18, Saba Karim said, “That is the conundrum which Rishabh Pant needs to come out of. But lately one has seen those glimpses of the kind of form he’s exhibited in Test matches. We saw him play a blinder of an innings in one day against England. And similarly, there have been some great performances.”
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He further added, “Maybe not on a consistent basis, but I do believe that there’s still so much for Rishabh Pant to learn in T20 cricket. He’s become a much better player now, but I think with more exposure one can see Rishabh Pant growing in confidence and adding far more value to this T20 side also.”
India chose to play just a solitary left-hander in their batting line-up – Ravindra Jadeja against Pakistan. Veteran Dinesh Karthik was given the keeping duties as well as the specialist finishers role.
Elaborating the same, Saba Karim said, “I think at least for the Asia Cup, the Indian team management seems to have decided to have Dinesh Karthik and that is why they want to utilize Ravindra Jadeja as a floater. So, we saw him going up the order at number 4 in the last outing and we may see that happen more often as the game progresses because Jadeja brings a different kind of dimension. He can also come down the order and score quick runs.”
Saba Karim added that Pant can be put back into the order for his special abilities with the bat, but it would mean that Dinesh Karthik will have to sacrifice his spot.
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Elaborating the same, Saba Karim said, “So, which means that as of now there’s no place for Rishabh Pant in the 11. But having said that I do believe that Rishabh Pant is such an X-factor. He can win you games from situations where the team has got no chance whatsoever. So why would you want to keep someone like Rishabh Pant out of the 11. I was surprised because I do stick to my earlier stand of having Pant in the side in place of Dinesh Karthik because I always felt that we need to look ahead.”
