Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer feels that a short break will do a lot of good to Rishabh Pant as he is an important player for the team and his performances are necessary for the side.
Rishabh Pant will be returning to the side after a lean patch
Rishabh Pant has become the centre of attraction for his poor performances of late in white-ball cricket. Rated as a ‘generational talent’, the keeper batter hasn’t done justice to his reputation in T20Is even after playing more than 60 games.
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.
Pant failed to set the stage on fire in New Zealand as he failed miserably in both T20I as well as ODI series. He was given the opportunity to open the innings in the T20I series. But he failed to grab the spot as he bagged failures in both matches. The same story continued in the ODI series as well as he looked scratchy and gave away his wickets for low totals in three games.
Rishabh Pant is back after the break, and hit the nets straightaway. Expecting a top series from him.#BANvIND @RevSportzpic.twitter.com/Tn2yMN9pcG
— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) December 12, 2022
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He was slated to play in the ODI series against Bangladesh but he opted out of the series as various media reports suggested that he needs a break. Pant was also sacked from the vice-captaincy duties in the Test as he wasn’t given the role of KL Rahul’s deputy in the Test after Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the first game.
He will not be returning to the team for the Test series and all eyes will be on him amid his poor run of form. Wasim Jaffer feels that a short break will help the keeper batter and he will perform well. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, he said:
“Rishabh Pant has been disappointing in T20 cricket as well as ODIs for that matter, but he has got a small break. I’m sure his mind must have been refreshed after the break. He is a very important player for Team India and I feel his performances are necessary for the side.”
“I am expecting a big score from Kohli in one contest,” says Wasim Jaffer
The Test series against Bangladesh will be crucial for India in the context of WTC. Jaffer feels that Kohli will shine in the series and will play at least one big knock. He added:
“The performances of Pujara, Kohli and Pant matter a lot. I am expecting a big score from Kohli in one contest, if not both the matches, because the pitch is really good to bat on and he looks in good form at the moment.”
The two Test matches between Bangladesh and India will be played in Chattogram on 14th December and Mirpur on 22nd December respectively.
Rishabh Pant in Test cricket in 2022:
Innings – 9
Runs – 532
Average – 66.50
SR – 90.78
Fifties – 3
Hundreds – 2Magnificent batting numbers for India's wicketkeeper in the longest format of the game this year 🔥💥#RishabhPant #India #BANvsIND #Cricket #Tests pic.twitter.com/XqkLtXeLng
Advertisement— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) December 13, 2022
