IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rishabh Pant Should Have Been A Part Of The Limited Overs Squad

IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rishabh Pant Should Have Been A Part Of The Limited Overs Squad. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, announced the T20I and ODI squads for the home series against Sri Lanka starting January 3, 2023. Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a thumb injury will miss the 3-match T20I series and will return to lead the team in the ODIs against Sri Lanka.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named the skipper for the T20I series and will have Suryakumar Yadav as his deputy. Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a thumb injury that he sustained in Bangladesh recently, will return to lead the team in ODIs when the series kickstarts in Guwahati on January 10. Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram will host the remaining matches in the series.

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Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been dropped from the T20I side while Hardik Pandya has been named as the captain of the side. This could be the way forward for team India for the Road to 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.

India’s T20I Squad for Sri Lanka: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar

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IND vs SL: 3 Reasons Why Rishabh Pant Should Have Been A Part Of The Limited Overs Squad

While experienced players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul didn’t find a space in the T20I squad, they all have been included in the ODI series that begins on January 10. Sanju Samson has been dropped from the ODI squad but has been included in the T20s, meaning he is unlikely to be in the scheme of things for the 2023 ODI World Cup next year.

KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan have been named as wicketkeepers for the ODIs. Interestingly, there is no place for Rishabh Pant in the squad. The press release issued by the BCCI didn’t clarify if Rishabh Pant was injured, rested, or dropped.

 A report said that Rishabh Pant has only been rested as he is carrying a niggle in his knee. He has been asked to go to National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to get fitter.

1. Rishabh Pant May Have Amended His Stats

In T20Is too, he is out of form, managing only 9 runs in 2 innings in T20 World Cup 2022 averaging 4.5, and 17 runs in 2 T20Is against Kiwis averaging 8.5.  He also scored only 27 runs in the 1 innings he batted against Proteas. In Asia Cup 2022, he scored 14, 17, and 20*.

His last T20I fifty came way back in February 2022 against West Indies – 52* off 28 balls. He scored 44 against the Windies in August 2022. He may have amended his stats if selected for the IND vs SL series.

2. Sanju Samson’s Success In T20Is May Mean The End Of the Road For Rishabh Pant In T20Is

Sanju Samson, the Kerala batter, who made his T20I debut in 2015, has managed 296 runs at a modest average of 21.14 in 16 T20Is and 330 runs in 11 ODIs averaging 66. He scored his maiden T20I fifty (77) against Ireland this year and his maiden ODI fifty (54) against West Indies this year.

He also hit a career-best ODI 86* against Proteas but wasn’t selected for the IND vs SL ODI series.  Sanju Samson, who was selected for the Sri Lanka T20Is, may oust Rishabh Pant from the T20I setup if he does well in the T20Is.

3. Ishan Kishan’s Performance Could End Rishabh Pant’s Hopes Of Playing Limited Overs Cricket

Rishabh Pant performed poorly in the recent ODI series against New Zealand, where he managed only 25 runs in 2 innings averaging 12.5. However, he should’ve been confident for the Sri Lanka ODI series after scoring his maiden ton-125* in the 3rd ODI against England in July 2022. Ishan Kishan, who is both in T20I and ODI squads, could similarly oust Rishabh Pant from the limited overs setup if he does well.

Ishan Kishan scored a brilliant double-century of 210 runs off 131 balls with 24 fours and 10 sixes in the 3rd inconsequential ODI against Bangladesh when he replaced injured Rohit Sharma. Ishan Kishan had scored 477 runs in 10 ODIs averaging 53 and 589 runs in 21 T20Is averaging 29.45. He has hit 4 T20I fifties and 1 ODI ton and 3 ODI fifties.

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah