Former India coach Sanjay Bangar feels wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant should open the innings for India. He cited the example of legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who scored his first century after over 70 matches when he was asked to open the innings.
Rishabh Pant has been struggling to score runs consistently in the last few innings. He averaged just a dismal 14.50 in five innings in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa. His poor form has been a cause of concern, especially with the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 around the corner.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has expressed an ‘out-of-the-box’ for Rishabh Pant. He reckons that the left-hander should open the innings for India, as the team is looking for a left-right opening combination.
Bangar also pointed out that Sachin Tendulkar got his first International century when he was asked to open the innings. Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports:
“I’ve been thinking about it for 3 years. If you look at Sachin Tendulkar’s career, he hit his first century in his 75th or 76th innings when he was asked to open the innings against New Zealand after batting largely in the middle-order.”
“Right now, the Indian team is looking at a left-right combination. Yes, Ishan Kishan is doing good right now, but if the Indian team is eyeing a left-right opening pair for the long term, Rishabh Pant can do the same job that someone like Adam Gilchrist did for Australia,” he added.
There will be challenges, but Rishabh Pant is a quality batter: Irfan Pathan feels Rishabh should be promoted up the batting order
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan too feels wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant should be promoted up the batting order. He admitted that there will be challenges as the ball will swing. However, Rishabh Pant is a quality batter, Pathan expressed.
“We’re talking about off-side (problem) for a long time now. But when does it happen? When the field opens up. Can we use Rishabh Pant in the powerplay where the bowlers can’t give enough width? Yes, there will be challenges because the ball will swing early on, but then, Rishabh Pant is a quality batter. So, I’m thinking along those lines. It may not be right now, but maybe in the future,” Irfan Pathan said.
Rishabh Pant will tour England along with the test squad for the fifth (rescheduled) test match against the hosts.
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