IND vs SA: The Way Rishabh Pant Has Played Recently, I Won't Call Him A Certainty - Wasim Jaffer Unsure About Youngster's T20I Spot

Wasim Jaffer, a former India batsman, has expressed doubts over Rishabh Pant’s future role in the T20I playing XI. For the current series against South Africa, the 24-year-old is India’s stand-in captain. Jaffer, on the other hand, believes the left-hander hasn’t performed well enough in the format to be considered a lock.

Pant has struggled with the bat thus far in the T20I series against South Africa, scoring 29, 5, and 6 runs. The quality of his shots has also been scrutinized. In the IPL 2022, the aggressive batter also struggled. He scored 340 runs in 14 matches for the Delhi Capitals (DC), with a high of 44.

Wasim Jaffer Not Certain Of Rishabh Pant’s Place In Indian T20 Side

In light of the cricketer’s dismal performance in the T20 format, Jaffer has stated that he may not be a regular member of the Indian playing XI in subsequent matches. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he opined:

“You’ve got KL Rahul. Once he comes back, he walks into the side. He’s a wicketkeeper as well. If Dinesh Karthik is certain to play, then again, he is also a wicketkeeper. So, I am not too sure. The way Rishabh Pant has played recently, I won’t call him a certainty.”

While the keeper-batsman has thrived in Tests and has also played a few solid one-day innings, Jaffer believes the same cannot be said of his T20 career. He elaborated:

“I think he still needs to score runs and score them pretty consistently. He hasn’t done that in the IPL. He hasn’t done it in many T20Is.

I’ve said that many times – the way he has played in Test cricket, the way he has played in quite a few ODI innings as well, he hasn’t done that in T20Is. So, I won’t say that Rishabh Pant is a certainty for me (in T20Is) going forward.”

Rishabh Pant’s Stats So Far

Pant will lead India against the Proteas in the fourth T20I of the five-match series on Friday (June 17) in Rajkot.

So far, the 24-year-old has appeared in 30 Tests, scoring 1920 runs at an average of 40.85 with four hundreds. He has 715 runs at 32.50 in 24 One-Day Internationals.

His T20I stats aren’t that impressive. In 46 games, he has 723 runs, batting with a strike rate of 125.95 and an average of 23.32.

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