Rishabh Pant Can Go From An A Contract To An A+ One - Nikhil Chopra
Former Indian cricketer Nikhil Chopra opined that Indian wicket-keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, deserves a promotion in terms of his annual contract with the BCCI. He also felt that Hardik Pandya might be demoted owing to his performances and injury issues.
Pant scored a century in the recently concluded third Test against South Africa but it was in vain as the hosts won the match by 7 wickets. He also had a couple of impressive performances in the ODI series, where India was whitewashed.
“Rishabh Pant can maybe go from an A contract to an A+ one. Shreyas Iyer, A<!---->x<!---->a<!---->r<!----> <!---->P<!---->a<!---->t<!---->e<!---->l, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, and Deepak Chahar are some of the names that should be promoted to a B contract. Even Chahal and Sundar, considering the 2023 World Cup,” Chopra mentioned on a Khelneeti podcast.
“Potential is definitely a factor when it comes to promotion, but you also have to see how the player has done in the chances he has availed. I won’t be surprised if Hardik Pandya gets demoted from A to B, because he has not performed well,” he added.
“You can get demoted if you don’t perform” – Nikhil Chopra wants a benchmark to be set
Based on performances, the contract needs to be mended which will only give more incentive to the Indian players, as per Chopra. He took the example of the senior pros in the Test team, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara.
“He can be promoted in the next cycle, but in the meantime, an example has to be set for the other players, that you can get demoted if you don’t perform. Pujara, Rahane, and Ishant Sharma have not performed well. The demotion of these players is an indication that they will be replaced by other players in the future,” Chopra mentioned.
India will play West Indies at home in a white-ball series starting from February 6.
