Former India opener Aakash Chopra reckons that Rishabh Pant failed to make use of the chances presented to him and therefore, lost his place across formats. Pant was once earmarked as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman across formats for India but now has been reduced to warming the benches on the ongoing tour of Australia.In limited-overs, India has now put their faith in KL Rahul while in Tests, Wriddhiman Saha is proffered owing to his much superior wicketkeeeping skills.

A major reason behind Pant losing his place was his inability to finish matches and almost gifting his wickets in pressure situations

“Rishabh Pant needed to understand this whenever he had the opportunity, he had to understand that the way he was getting out and whether he was able to finish the match or not. He has not made full use of the chances that he got and he only has himself to blame at this point in time,” Aakash Chopra told Cricbuzz.

During the first tour match between India A and Australia A, Saha kept the wickets meaning he will be the first-choice ‘keeper in the upcoming Test series as well.

“Wriddhiman Saha has been keeping for India A in the practice game against Australia A. It means that Rishabh Pant has even lost his spot in Test cricket. At one point in time, he was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper across all three formats. He was also sent to the 2019 World Cup as a replacement,” Chopra recalled.

However, one advantage that Pant still has is his young age. He’s still 23 and has plenty of time to work on his weaknesses and make a strong comeback but for that to happen, Pant will have to be harsh on himself, Chopra observed.

“If things have turned out to be this bad for him, he is still young and will get chances to bounce back. But he will have to be a bit harsh on himself that he did not make the most of his chances,” he said.