Irfan Pathan, the former Indian cricketer, has issued a warning to wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant about his international prospects. The youngster, who is leading India against South Africa, has struggled to score runs in recent matches.
With the bat, Pant has failed to lead the team from the front. On Tuesday, he scored just six runs in the third T20I against South Africa. The southpaw lost his wicket at a crucial time for India, which was hoping to build on Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s strong start.
Irfan Pathan is disappointed with Rishabh Pant
Irfan Pathan has stated that Rishabh Pant must continue to deliver with the bat in order to remain a member of India’s full-strength T20I squad.
On Tuesday, June 14, Pant scored just six runs in the third T20I against South Africa. The Men in Blue, on the other hand, put up a formidable score of 179/5 on the board and won the match by 48 runs.
“He has got stuck a lot, you will have to perform. As of now, you are doing the captaincy but it is possible that going forward a time might come where you might have to work hard to play in the XI. You already have Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan as wicketkeepers in the playing XI and Sanju Samson is waiting, and KL Rahul (who can keep) is a name who I will always keep in my playing XI. I feel he (Rahul) is the best cricketer. So there is a lot of competition, you cannot keep your bat quiet for too long,” Irfan Pathan said
Love Rishabh pant as a cricketer but his t20 international numbers need to get better…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 14, 2022
Pant has only scored 40 runs in three T20Is against the Proteas so far and has been dismissed for single-digit scores in both of his last two innings. Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, has been outstanding with the bat, and Dinesh Karthik also played a solid knock in the second T20I.
“The T20 game is his, that’s what I believe. There is no doubt that Rishabh Pant is a superstar player. He is a 24-year-old boy, if he plays for the next 10 years, he can become the most fantastic cricketer but that result has not come till now. I feel he tries to muscle the ball a lot when he plays on the off side. When you try to put the same power that you put while playing on the leg side while losing your shape, there will be problems. He is trying to hit too hard and hitting the ball in the air. Play along the ground there and hit in the air on the leg side,” Pathan added.
Pathan concluded by saying that if Rishabh Pant changes his game slightly, he can have similar numbers in T20 cricket as he does in the longer format.
