‘There’s no need for him to audition,’ says Aakash Chopra of ‘X-Factor’ Rishabh Pant. Pant will be the only left-handed batting option in the upcoming T20 World Cup, according to Chopra.
Rishabh Pant, India’s wicketkeeper batter, has recently come under fire for his inconsistency in T20I matches. In the recently concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa, he scored only 58 runs at a strike rate of 105.45, and his numbers in white-ball cricket continue to deteriorate. He has played 48 T20Is to date, but has only scored 741 runs at a strike rate of 123.91. With the 2022 T20 World Cup only four months away, his T20I statistics are casting doubt on his future involvement in white-ball cricket. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, on the other hand, believes Pant provides an x-factor to the Indian team and should play in the mega tournament in Australia.
After KL Rahul was ruled out with a groin injury. The 24-year-old batter name stand-in captain for the South Africa series. However, the southpaw struggled in his new role, as he made some surprising bowling rotation decisions. He was also chastised for playing the same eleven throughout the series, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Former Indian cricketers such as Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Jaffer have spoken out about Pant’s current form. Former Indian pacers Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra appeared to be fine with benching Pant in favor of Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan.
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Our X-factor is Rishabh Pant: Aakash Chopra
Chopra, on the other hand, stated that Pant will be the only left-handed batting option in the upcoming World Cup, with Ishan unlikely to open ahead of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja likely to bat at number seven. He also believes Pant is India’s X-factor in T20Is and is crucial to the team’s overall success.
“I believe Rishabh Pant is the third. He was the series’ captain, and when someone is the captain, you know he is safe. “A lot of people, including myself, thought there was no need for him to audition because he is one of the first names you would want to put when putting together the squad,” Aakash Chopra explained in his latest YouTube video.
“He’s our “X-Factor.” There is only one lefty in the entire batting order; the rest are all righties. “You never know if Ishan Kishan will get a chance or not, and Jaddu comes in the end,” he added.\
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