Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has made a big prediction about a young Indian wicketkeeper-batter who he thinks will become a huge player in years to come. The member of the 2007 T20 World Cup-winning team was full of praise for the 25-year-old left-handed batter, who he believes is a match-winner and can win games for the Men in Blue on his own with his explosive batting.
The former KKR and CSK batter was talking about Indian stumper Rishabh Pant, who regularly features for India in all three formats of the game, and said that despite his struggles in the shortest format of the game at present, he is capable of turning it around and making a big name for India in T20Is in coming times.
Unlike Tests, Pant has failed to make his name for India in the limited-overs format; he has played a total of 64 T20Is to date, in which he has scored 970 runs at an average of 23.09 and a strike rate of 127.12. He was part of India’s 15-man squad for the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, but only got to play two games.
Senior stumper Dinesh Karthik was preferred over him for the first four matches, and only when DK’s form dipped Pant was considered for the job. But he also failed to make the most of that opportunity and made just nine runs in two matches.
One of the main reasons for him not being able to make an impact till date is the uncertainty related to his playing position. On most occasions, the left-handed batter batted at number five or lower, where he rarely got a chance to play a big inning.
And considering this factor, Uthappa feels that a promotion in the batting order would be beneficial for Pant and bring out the best in him for Team India.
After the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, Pant has travelled to New Zealand with the Indian team, and Uthappa wants Pant to open for India in the T20I series.
“Rishabh Pant should open the innings in the New Zealand series, he should definitely play at the top of the order. I think in T20 cricket, that’s where he has been at his best and that is where he will thrive going forward as well,” Uthappa was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.
“He is a match-winner, a game-changer, and he can easily win matches for India single-handedly with his batting. I think he will be a huge player in T20 cricket over the course of the next 10 years,” Uthappa added.
In New Zealand, India are without a host of senior players, and in their absence, Hardik Pandya is leading the T20I team. Pant has been made Pandya’s deputy, and after the conclusion of the T20Is, he will remain the vice-captain for the three-match ODI series as well.
