You cannot leave out Rishabh Pant from team India line-up for far too long
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Rishabh Pant
Watching team India coast to a comfortable victory over Netherlands in Sydney for a 2-0 record in the ICC T20 World Cup is satisfying. After the adrenaline-felted batting show from Virat Kohli against Pakistan, backed by solid batting from Hardik Pandya on Sunday, Thursday’s match in Sydney was more simple.
Yet, if you are looking at room for improvement, there is plenty. What is most worrying is the form of KL Rahul. The opener has been struggling like an old jalopy in winter mornings, where starting the engine used to be a big hassle. In the good old days, engines were cranked from outside, like in the good, old Amby, with a long road going straight into the crank shaft. Or, double batteries were used to jump start the engine.
KL Rahul seems to be in that particular phase like an old Amby. His form has slumped for a while. There is no need to get lost in the matrix and maze of stats. When Rahul was elevated as deputy to Rohit Sharma, he looked in great touch. Only the top batting analysts, Rahul Dravid included, can find out what’s wrong with KL Rahul. Is it loss of form, loss of concentration, bad luck or something wrong in his head and heart. The chances he has been given would do a millionaire proud.
Indeed, the Indian cricket board has invested in him heavily and must be wondering what’s wrong with the grammar of his batting. Batting looks easy when you are in form. Batting looks bad when you are not in form. The worst case scenario is when you become a liability. That India have won two matches on the trot camouflage the flop show from KL Rahul.
Related: T20 World Cup 2022: India full schedule & match timings in IST
It is time for Team India to look at Rishabh Pant
At the same time, it also brings to mind the topic of India’s superstar Rishabh Pant. The Delhi batsman cum wicketkeeper is indeed a delightful cricketer. The young man turned 25 on October 4, with almost a quiet birthday. He has been going through a huge crisis in recent times. What is being held against Pant is he is not scoring runs.
Agreed, he has not done well, recently. If form in the IPL be the yardstick, there is no doubt DK — Dinesh Karthik — did better than Pant in the IPL. The question now is, Pant has played incredible knocks for India. His batting in Tests has been breathtaking, though some will question his application. He is not one of those batters wields the willow in sync with what is prescribed in coaching manuals. He can swat the ball, launch it into orbit, and produce shots which are out of the world. The most impressive thing about his batting is he catches the eye, even if it looks like he will lose his wicket any moment.
T20 cricket is hard and at the same time a sport where instincts, reaction time and freshness are important. Against Netherlands, Dinesh Karthik did appear to miss two stumping chances. Had it been against a stronger team, it would have been costly. As India won against Netherlands, the two errors he made will not be spoken of. What will be spoken of are the knocks from Kohli and captain Rohit.
Pant has been with the Indian team since 2016/17. As one who has thrived in all formats and also snatched captaincy of Delhi Capitals from Shreyas Iyer in 2021, he is leadership material. His batting apart, the glove-work cannot be ignored. T20 calls for keeping of the highest order, against the fast bowlers and spinners. The big challenge is keeping against spin, where there are quite a few bowlers in the Indian side who can fox the rival batsmen with skill and guile. Collecting the ball behind the stumps, to keep chirping and motivating bowlers and then make effective stumping, these are the areas where Pant is a worthy keeper. Dinesh Karthik may be in favour at the moment. He has worked hard on fitness, pumps iron and stays fit. Truth is, DK is 37 and not getting younger.
In the long run, say leading to the ICC World Cup in ODI format in 2023, you cannot keep someone like Pant out of the scheme of things. He is already far too experiences to be dumped. The bad run will end but what is important is he is handled well by the team management. For someone who has played 62 T20 internationals, 27 ODIs and 31Tests, the current situation is not alarming. If the BCCI wants to plan for the future and specifically the World Cup next year (ODIs) at home, Pant cannot be on the sidelines for long.
As it is, there has been talk of Pant having potential to be a leader. He is passing through a lean phase. The sooner it ends, the better for Pant and Indian cricket. There are more keepers in waiting like Sanju Samson. However, there is only one man who can bat like a devil and shred the rival bowling. That’s Rishabh Pant.
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