Should India give Rishabh Pant an extended run as T20I opener?
Team India won the three-match T20I series against New Zealand as rain intervened in the final game of the series. The match ended in a tie as both teams had same scores after nine overs according to DLS method. The visitors had won the second T20I by 65 runs and it was enough for them to seal the series.
The visitors were put to bat first by the Kiwis’ skipper Kane Williamson in the contest. One of the highlight points in the match was wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant opening the innings alongside Ishan Kishan. Now, the management had decided to experiment him up the order only for it to fall flat.
Pant used as many as 13 deliveries and scored just six runs during his time at the crease. Despite wickets falling swiftly, it was Suryakumar Yadav’s majestic century coupled with the impressive display by the bowling unit that handed the win by 65 runs. Pant failed in the final game as well not mustering many runs. The underlying question now is whether the management should give Pant an extended run at the top order in the line-up.
It must be noted that the wicketkeeper batter did not get opportunities in the recently concluded T20 World Cup down under. The lack of form was clearly reflected in the second T20I match against the Black Caps. Moreover, with the batting heavy line-up selected by the management for the New Zealand tour leaves Pant with not many options to play his natural game.
However, opening the innings, Pant gets to use the powerplay to his advantage to hit the ground running. The aggressive left-hander has the potential to carve out a sensational inning assuming he gets a terrific head start. Team India could try him for a few more matches at the top order before concluding his final place in the setup.
Many former cricketers such as Wasim Jaffer and Robin Uthappa have opined that the player is best used when he is made to open. This is so because when he joins the crease at no. 5, the pressure is on the southpaw to hit the ground running immediately. Therefore, experimenting with him for a few more games could be of use to the management to decide whether to go with Shubman Gill or Rishabh Pant.
