ICC T20 World Cup: Rishabh Pant Is Failing, While Other Wicket keepers Are Firing

Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has hogged the limelight since he stepped into international cricket. He has faced many highs and lows in his four-year-old career. However, he is a permanent member of all three formats. 

Yesterday was so overwhelming. A big thanks to all my friends, teammates, and fans for taking their time to wish me. It really meant a lot to me and I am very grateful for it. 🙏🙌 pic.twitter.com/tfZk3f3uPW

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) October 5, 2022

Pant has opened the innings for Team India in the World Cup warmup game against Western Australia. The dashing batter had a struggle at the crease. The left-hander scored 9 off 16 balls. Meanwhile, India’s other wicket-keeper batters, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, have excelled in the ODI series against South Africa.

Rishabh Pant and his T20 struggles

The aggressive batter came into the Indian team after his exploits in the IPL. He was ideally considered for the T20 format. However, Pant has not really taken off his T20 career. He possesses an average of 24 runs from 58 games. Pant has only scored 960 runs at a strike rate of 127.5. This is not an ideal record he’d love to carry it, for sure.

We made a bond to never forget! pic.twitter.com/tbsdBt9BQU

— Ishan Kishan (@ishankishan51) August 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Pant has done exceedingly well in the Test formats. He has overtaken Saha and become the number-one keeper in the game’s most extended format. Pant’s memorable knocks in Perth and Brisbane in the Border Gavaskar Series, and his exploits in the England Tour are golden memories of many cricket fans.

He enjoyed a fairly decent career track in ODIs, and his average in the last two years in ODIs is an impressive 51. But he has not translated this form into the shortest format. It is a cause for concern as India is heading into the T20 World Cup. 

Pant’s role in the T20I format

Pant showed some sublime form in the third T20I against South Africa. He batted as an opener and hit an aggressive 28 before being dismissed. However, he showed promises of timing the ball pretty well.

Aur hum ek naya niyam add kar rahe hain, Mirzapur ki gaddi pe baithne wala kabhi bhi niyam badal sakta hai – Munna Bhaiya. 😅#RP17 pic.twitter.com/kSpyG6B4yk

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) July 19, 2022

Pant is expected to bat at number five in the T20 team. He will have to be an aggressor, and along with Pandya, has the job of carrying India’s scoring forward in the middle and late overs. Fans would hope Pant succeeds in his happy hunting ground.