Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth has expressed his disappointment with out-of-form Rishabh Pant. He said that the keeper batter is not utilising his chances and suggested him take a break from cricket and also lashed out at management for not handling him well.
“Rishabh Pant is not utilising the chances he’s getting,” Kris Srikkanth disappointed with the keeper batter not making most of the opportunities
The clouds are really hovering over the place of Rishabh Pant in the Indian team. His continuous failures in the T20Is have put his place under scanner even in the ODIs despite having a good record in the 50-over format. The keeper batter was India’s first-choice player in all three formats but of late nothing has been going his way.
After the IPL 2022, Dinesh Karthik was preferred over him and he even failed to get going on the limited opportunities he got. He missed most of the T20 World Cup 2022 as well. Pant was then given the opportunity to open the innings in the series against New Zealand. But he failed to grab the spot as he bagged failures in both matches.
He looked scratchy in the second game and managed just 6 runs from 13 balls. In the third game, Pant showed great intent but his shot selection was again something that let him down but scored just 11 runs. Many expected him to return to form in ODIs, but this wasn’t the case as he scored just 15 runs in the first game.
The amount of hate Rishabh Pant gets on this platform is unreal… 🤷♂️
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 25, 2022
Following his failures in the New Zealand tour, many fans and pundits have expressed their disappointment with his shot selection and said that team should replace him, especially with Sanju Samson on the bench.
Former Indian cricketer Kris Srikkanth, also expressed his disappointment with Pant not utilising his chances. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he said:
“Maybe you can give him (Pant) a break and tell him ‘just wait a bit, come and play in India’, they haven’t handled him well. Are you going to wait for a couple of matches before giving him a break or remove him after one or two games? Yes, Rishabh Pant is not utilising the chances he’s getting. I am very disappointed – ennada Pant-u (what is this Pant)?”
“Rishabh Pant needs to reinvent himself,” Kris Srikkanth says management didn’t handle keeper batter well
Kris Srikkanth went on to say that although Rishabh Pant is messing up his chances, but management is also responsible for him as they haven’t handled him well. He further added:
“You are messing up these chances. If you smash into such matches, it’ll be good right? The World Cup is coming up. Already a lot of people are saying that Pant isn’t scoring so it’ll add fuel to the fire. He’s going to put pressure on himself. He needs to reinvent himself. He has to do something right – stand and play for a while and then go for it…He’s throwing his wicket away all the time,”
The upcoming third ODI against New Zealand will b another opportunity for Pant to find his form and silence his critics. The third game between the teams will be played on Wednesday (30th November).
Rishabh Pant – 326 runs in 9 innings.
Sanju Samson – 284 runs in 9 innings.Whom will you select in your ODI playing XI?#RishabhPant #SanjuSamson #India #NZvsIND #Cricket pic.twitter.com/4TxDNfFISS
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) November 27, 2022
