Rishabh Pant has failed to make his name for India in the shortest format of the game till date, and one of the main reasons for it is that there’s no fixed position for him to bat in. The 25-year-old left-handed batter has opened for India in quite a few games this year, but on the majority of occasions he has batted at number five or six. Pant is an explosive batter who can change the course of a game in a matter of balls, but he has struggled to deliver on a consistent basis because he has not been given enough opportunities at any position.
And now, after the end of the T20 World Cup in 2022, when the Indian team is heading for a transition in T20I cricket, former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has suggested a new batting position for the left-handed batter.
According to him, the wicketkeeper-batter should bat in the top order in the shortest format of the game because that is where his potential can be utilised to the fullest. He gave the example of the IPL, where Pant comes higher up the order and has scored runs.
“The next World Cup is in two years’ time. So, keeping the conditions there in mind, I feel Rishabh Pant should bat in the top 3,” he told Sportskeeda.
“If you look at his IPL records, his best performances have come when he has opened or when he has batted at No. 3. So, you have to give him the opportunity to become a match-winner in that position.”
Pant, who made his T20I debut for India against England in Bengaluru on February 1, 2017, has played 64 T20Is to date, in which he has scored 970 runs at an average of 23.09. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, he was only selected to play in the last two matches against Zimbabwe and England, but he failed to make the most of it and got out on 3 and 6, respectively.
