Rishabh Pant Has Not Made Full Use Of His Chances, Has Only Himself To Blame - Aakash Chopra

Once touted as the future of Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant now isn’t even in the first-choice eleven in any format for the national team. Former India opener, Aakash Chopra feels that Pant has only himself to blame for his exclusion from the eleven.

After achieving huge success in the IPL, Pant was drafted into India’s white-ball team. He was also called in as a replacement in the 2019 World Cup and played in the semi-final at number 4. However, the left-hander couldn’t replicate his IPL heights in international cricket with inconsistent flashes of his potential for the men in blue.

He last played a white-ball game for India in January this year and was later replaced by KL Rahul for the New Zealand tour and the Australia tour recently.

While he has been excluded from the limited-overs team, he is in the squad for the 4-match Test series. The 23-year-old is the only Indian wicket-keeper to record Test hundreds in Australia and England. Pant was picked over Wriddhiman Saha in New Zealand. However, Saha is playing as the keeper in the ongoing practice game for India A against Australia A as Pant warms the bench.

He is still young and will get chances to bounce back: Aakash Chopra

While speaking on Cricbuzz Live, Aakash Chopra opined that Pant didn’t grab his opportunities and threw his wicket away with reckless shots. Chopra says that the left-hander has nobody but himself to blame for his exclusion from the limited-overs side.

However, the commentator believes that the addition of Pant in the Indian side would make it even more dangerous. But for that, the youngster should do well whenever he is given any opportunity.

Talking to Cricbuzz, Aakash Chopra said, “Rishabh Pant needed to understand this whenever he had the opportunity, he had to understand that the way he was getting out and whether he was able to finish the match or not. He has not made full use of the chances that he got and he only has himself to blame at this point in time.

“Just think about it, if Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja play at No.5, 6, and 7 for India, then suddenly you feel ‘wow, what a team!’. But did Rishabh did enough for himself? This is one question that he will have to ask himself.”

Pant had a disappointing IPL 2020, and now omission from the Test eleven will just add miseries to the youngster’s confidence. Aakash Chopra, 43, maintains that Pant is young and will have plenty of chances to make a comeback in Test eleven and in the reckoning for the white-ball team with three ICC World Cups scheduled in the next three years.

“If things have turned out to be this bad for him, he is still young and will get chances to bounce back. But he will have to be a bit harsh on himself that he did not make the most of his chances,” Aakash Chopra added.

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