Amid the continued T20I series between India and England, veteran cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Rishabh Pant would need to earn his place in India’s white-ball sides. Nonetheless, the analyst also said that Pant has been wronged a bit of in ODIs, stating that he has been dropped despite not being given proper possibilities as well.
Notably, Pant isn’t a part of the Indian team for the continued five-match T20I series against England, with Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson given possibilities. He hasn’t been picked for the three-match ODI series against the identical opponents either, with KL Rahul and Kishan being chosen for the wicketkeeping duties as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Truthfully speaking, the conditions aren’t very tough nowadays. There may be a marginal difference. 220 runs are scored on extremely flat pitches in India, and 190 are being scored here (England) as well, and in ODI cricket, greater than 270 runs are scored. So I don’t think that the conditions are so different.”
“Rishabh Pant is an excellent cricketer. He’s a match-winner, game-changer, and X-factor in red-ball cricket, but in white-ball cricket, he has to earn his stripes. A bit incorrect is going on in ODI cricket because he didn’t get enough possibilities, and also you dropped him despite that,” he added. “He just isn’t even close in T20 cricket. It’s been many seasons since he has had a rockstar IPL. Until those things change, I don’t think you will note Rishabh Pant’s name even near white-ball cricket,” he shared again.
“I don’t think Rishabh Pant’s name would come that soon in white-ball cricket” – Aakash Chopra
Nonetheless, Aakash Chopra also stated that the selectors can’t be blamed for Rishabh Pant’s non-selection in India’s white-ball sides.
“You’ll be able to’t even blame the selectors because there are various options now. If we had asked the identical thing five years ago, we might have said what would occur if Rishabh isn’t there, as we might need to get KL Rahul to maintain. Today, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are there, and Dhruv Jurel is there behind them. Jitesh Sharma is there. You might have got loads of keeping options available. So I don’t think Rishabh Pant’s name would come that soon in white-ball cricket. The road is long, and Rishabh is standing a bit of towards the back in that queue,” Chopra concluded.
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