IND vs PAK: Blow for Suryakumar Yadav as Vikram Rathour confirms Rishabh Pant's batting position for rest of T20 WC 2024

Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has made a bold revelation about the batting position of talented wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 after they recorded an emphatic win over Ireland in their opening game on Wednesday, June 5.

The star wicketkeeper-batter Pant made an inspirational comeback in competitive cricket after a horrific car accident in December 2022, and he has been on full song in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.

Rishabh Pant played a key role in India's dominant win over Ireland in the T20 World Cup 2024 opener

After smashing a scorching fifty in the warm-up game against Bangladesh, the left-handed batter was retained at No. 3 for India’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener against Ireland, and he didn’t let the team down.

Pant made 36* off 26 balls, studded three fours and two sixes on the tricky pitch of New York’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium and helped the Indian cricket team chase down the 97-run target inside 13 overs against Ireland.

The 26-year-old batter also added 54 runs with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (52) during the Men in Blue’s successful chase against the Irish side. After Pant batted at No. 3 in New York on both occasions and delivered impressively, the question raised was whether he would continue to bat at this crucial position in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Rishabh Pant will continue to bat at No. 3: Vikram Rathour

Well, after the IND vs IRE match, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour made it clear that the Men in Blue will continue with Pant at No. 3 in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 after he played a key role in India’s eight-wicket win over Ireland on a challenging pitch with an uneven bounce in New York.

Since Rathour confirmed that Pant is India’s new No. 3 batter in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, it is clear that they will continue with the opening combination of Rohit and Kohli in the 20-team tournament in the USA and Caribbean. Notably, Pant was hit on his left elbow while batting against Ireland in New York.

Vikram Rathour told the media at the post-match press conference: “Yes, he has been batting really well. The two games (warm-up and Ireland) he has played, he has looked really, really good. Yes, at the moment he is our No. 3 and it helps that he is a left-hander.”

'We need to find a way to deal with the demon pitches'

The pitches at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium have drawn a lot of criticism due to their unpredictable bounce, which poses potential risks to player safety. However, India's batting coach has shown confidence in his players’ ability to navigate these challenges with their experience and skills.

Rathour added, “We're trying to control the controllable. It was a challenging wicket and we were expecting a challenging wicket because we played a practice game here so we knew what to expect. We need to find a way to deal with it and we have enough skills in the team and enough experience in the team to deal with it. We should be fine.”