Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been going through lots of criticism for his inconsistent kind in T20I matches recently. He scored solely 58 runs at a strike fee of 105.45 within the not too long ago concluded five-match T20I collection towards South Africa and his numbers proceed to downgrade in white-ball format. He has performed 48 T20I matches to this point however has scored solely 741 runs at a strike fee of 123.91. His T20I statistics are elevating doubts over his future involvement in white-ball cricket with the 2022 T20 World Cup being simply 4 months away. Nevertheless, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Pant presents an X-factor to the Indian workforce and may function within the mega match in Australia.
The 24-year-old batter was named stand-in captain for the South Africa collection after KL Rahul was dominated out as a result of a groin harm. Nevertheless, the southpaw struggled on this new function as he made some stunning selections concerning bowling rotation. He additionally got here below heavy criticism for sticking with the identical eleven all through the collection which led to a 2-2 draw. Former Indian cricketers, together with Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Jaffer, are elevating their voices concerning Pant’s present kind. Former Indian pacers Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra additionally appeared okay with dropping Pant for the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan.
Rishabh Pant is our X-factor: Aakash Chopra
Nevertheless, Chopra highlighted that Pant would be the solely left-handed batting choice within the upcoming World Cup with Ishan unlikely to get an opportunity to open forward of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja is prone to play on the quantity seven place. He additionally feels that Pant is India’s X-factor in T20I matches and is essential to the workforce’s scheme of issues.
“The third I really feel is Rishabh Pant. He was the captain within the collection and when somebody is the captain, you are feeling that he’s safe. Lots of people, together with myself, have been of the opinion that there was no want for him to offer an audition as a result of he is without doubt one of the first names you’ll wish to put while you put together the squad,” Aakash Chopra advised in his newest YouTube video.
“He’s our X-factor. You get just one left-hander in the complete batting order, the remaining are all right-handers. You by no means know whether or not Ishan Kishan will get an opportunity or not and Jaddu comes in the long run, so Rishabh Pant could be very, crucial and integral to India’s scheme of issues,” he added.
