According to former Indian cricket player and 2007 T20 World Cup winner Robin Uthappa, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant shouldn’t bat lower than the third slot in T20 cricket. Pant was left off of the roster for this year’s T20 World Cup, which will take place in February and March. Pant last participated in a T20I in August 2024.
Since Pant was involved in the tragic vehicle accident in late 2022, Uthappa feels that he has not been able to give his best performances. The former cricket player who is now a commentator believed that Pant shouldn’t squander his chances by batting in the middle order.
“I myself have a lot of patience with Pant.
I continue to think that we haven’t seen the best of Pant because of that incident (a vehicle crash in December 2022). I sense that he is making progress and developing himself. I think we’ll see his best work shortly if he opens or performs at three. “Rishabh couldn’t do anything more wrong than this,” Uthappa said in a video posted on his YouTube account. “The spot he’s batting at – No. 4 or No. 5 especially in T20s – usse zyaada galat cheez Rishabh nahi kar sakta.”
Pant is the kind of hitter who can cause havoc during the powerplay and whenever he has free time at the crease, according to Uthappa. The Coorg native also advised the left-hander to heed his counsel and put it into practice in order to extend his career in the game’s shortest format and potentially return to the national team.
“When he was playing at three in the 2024 T20 World Cup, I was overjoyed. He should be given more balls in T20 cricket because he is such a good batter. He ought to be allowed to use the powerplay freely. The fact that he was the LSG captain and batting at number five really irritated me. “Bro, please open, you will shake Indian T20 cricket if this reaches him,” he continued.
Pant will not play in the ODI series.
Pant’s near-complete exclusion from the forthcoming three-match ODI series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 11, has delivered India a severe blow. On the eve of the first match in Vadodara, the stumper-batter was struck in the abdomen while practicing on the net. A successor will most likely be appointed when BCCI makes an official announcement soon.
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