Table of Contents
Only a couple of years ago, Rishabh Pant was positioned as the next big thing in Indian cricket. For his swashbuckling batting style, he had been called the X-factor or the game-changer.
Rishabh Pant was all over the place, from hoardings and cutouts to advertisements and promotions; he was riding high. Team India is currently in England for a 5-match T20I series and a 3-match ODI series. But where is Rishabh now?
Rishabh Pant deserve to play in ODIs?
Rishabh is currently nowhere near the national team, as he has been dropped from the side across the white-ball formats. Former Team India cricketer, now a commentator and cricket expert, Aakash Chopra predicts that Rishabh will have to grind hard to regain his spot in T20Is and ODIs.
“Rishabh Pant is an outstanding cricketer. He is a match-winner, game-changer, and X-factor in red-ball cricket, but in white-ball cricket, he has to earn his stripes. A little wrong is happening in ODI cricket because he didn't get enough chances, and you dropped him despite that,” the former batter said on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’.
Aakash Chopra says playing conditions are not an excuse
In this YouTube video, Chopra argues that the keeper-batter deserves to be picked for the ODI format, as he did nothing wrong in it. While the team management chose Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan as the keeper-batters for the T20Is in the UK tour, KL Rahul and Ishan will be there with the team for the ODIs against England subsequently.
Many believe that the conditions in England are not suitable for Rishabh's batting style. Aakash Chopra observed that there is not much difference between the playing conditions in England and the playing combinations in India.
“Honestly speaking, the conditions aren't very tough nowadays. There is a marginal difference. 220 runs are scored on extremely flat pitches in India, and 190 are being scored here (England) as well, and in ODI cricket, more than 270 runs are scored. So I don't think that the conditions are so different,” Chopra said.
The left-hander had to endure back-to-back below-par seasons in the Indian Premier League, which might have harmed his selection. Chopra stated that because of the poor run in the IPL seasons, Rishabh Pant is currently far away from the T20I set-up.
“He is not even close in T20 cricket. It's been many seasons since he has had a rockstar IPL. Until those things change, I don't think you will see Rishabh Pant's name even close to white-ball cricket,” he added.
There are multiple talents to replace Rishabh Pant
The increased number of talents has also become a barrier for Rishabh. Chopra points out that only a few years back, the team management had to depend on Rishabh Pant as there was no other choice than KL Rahul. The present scenario is different. Multiple other keeper-batters have claimed the ranks and are either playing for Team India or waiting for their turns.
“You can't even blame the selectors because there are many options now. If we had asked the same thing five years ago, we would have said what would happen if Rishabh isn't there, as we would have to get KL Rahul to keep. Today, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are there, and Dhruv Jurel is there behind them,” Aakash Chopra highlighted.
