Brad Hogg Talks About Rishabh Pant's Batting Position For India In T20Is

Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has opined on the batting position at which India’s maverick wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant should bat for India in T20 international cricket. Rishabh Pant has mostly batted at no.5 or 6 in ODIs and T20Is for India and has been occasionally promoted above his normal position.

However, Brad Hogg feels that Rishabh Pant has it in him to do better in the top four of the Indian batting order. Rishabh Pant is coming off a golden run with the bat which included match-winning and drawing half-centuries and one century in the recent Test series against Australia in Australia and versus England at home.

Rishabh Pant Batting At No. 4 Always, Virat Kohli Should Open: Brad Hogg

The former Australian chinaman bowler Brad Hogg said that Rishabh Pant’s batting is enough for him to build on the platform provided by the Indian top three. He also felt that India captain Virat Kohli should open the innings in T20Is, especially with the T20 World Cup 2021 in mind.

“Rishabh batting at No. 4 always. I think so because if you’re going to open with Rohit and Kohli and then have Suryakumar coming at 3, I think it will be a wise option to have the left-hander coming in at No. 4 just to break the lines and lengths of the bowling,” said Brad Hogg on his YouTube channel.

In the 5 T20Is against England, Rishabh Pant got to bat 4 times, ahead of Shreyas Iyer. Brad Hogg feels that Rishabh Pant’s dominance against spin his first-choice to bat in middle overs, where he could hit big shots consistently. However, Hogg also added that Iyer can come in if India loses their first two wickets quickly.

“Pant is very dominant against spin, and spinners normally come in those middle overs and are operating around the 10-12 over mark. That’s probably the area he’s most likely to come in. For me, Pant should always be out at No. 4 but if they lose two early wickets, I’d like to see (Shreyas) Iyer come in,” said Brad Hogg.

Rishabh Pant may feature in the upcoming three-match ODI series against England, though he is yet to play an ODI since losing his place to KL Rahul as keeper-batsman during the Australia limited-overs series at home.

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