Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricket player, has criticised the team management for failing to make good use of Rishabh Pant. August 2024 was Pant’s most recent ODI. He was just included in India’s 15-man roster for the forthcoming series against New Zealand.
The fact that Pant was selected in the ODI setup but was rarely trusted to be in the starting lineup was too much for Chopra to handle. He believed that in some games where the left-handed batter could have been put to the test, the think tank chose not to use him.
“Rishabh Pant is still a member of the team even though he hasn’t participated in an ODI since 2024.
He is gifted across generations. It’s also a fact that his current ODI and T20I numbers aren’t very impressive. But the fact that the team has kept him on the squad despite not playing him in a single game since 2024 shows that I’m not the only one who thinks he’s a fine player. This is also what the team is stating. But you don’t play him when it’s his turn,” Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube page.
In order to evaluate South Africa’s performance, Chopra said Pant should have participated in all three of the games. The well-known pundit thought the 28-year-old might not have a chance very soon.
When the next opportunity arises, the question of whether Rishabh Pant should be played is constantly up for debate. You may have played him when you had the opportunity. If he had performed well in all three games, you could have kept him on the squad; if not, you might have said that he was out of your plans because of his poor performance. He said, “You didn’t give him a chance at all, and one won’t come now.
To date, Pant has participated in 31 ODIs for India. At an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 106.21, he has amassed 871 runs. The batsman-wicketkeeper has also played in 76 Twenty20 Internationals and 49 Test matches. Pant has been the most active player in the Test format lately.
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