Lahore: Former Pakistan captain Salman Bhatt has questioned Team India’s decision to send wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant at number four ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, who is number one in the ICC Twenty20 batting rankings, in the one-day series against New Zealand. There is no doubt that Rishabh Pant is a talented actor. But when Suryakumar Yadav, who is in good form, was in the team XI, Pant was appointed in the top order, literally shocking.
An out-of-form ball could not capitalize on the chances it got. Suryakumar Yadav’s performance was also significantly affected by the change in batting order. Salman Bhatt said that if he had been dropped at number 4, he would have been able to repeat his magical performance in Twenty20 in the ODI series against New Zealand as well. Salman Bhatt also points out that such short-sighted decisions can seriously affect the performance of in-form players. Salman Bhatt also said that India should be ready to test Suryakumar Yadav at number 4 in ODIs.
Suriya scored 111 not out in 51 balls in the second Twenty20 match against New Zealand and completely faded in the ODI series against New Zealand. In the two ODIs where he batted at number 5, he was dismissed for 6 and 4 runs.
Despite Rishabh Pant’s continuous failure as a wicket-keeper batsman, Malayalee player Sanju Samson was criticized for testing Pant again without giving him a chance. It was after this that Salman Bhatt came forward against Suriya at number four and giving the ball a chance. “Rishabh Pant has done well at number four, so it is important to support him,” head coach VVS Laxman told the media. After this, Sanju’s fans also came forward with numbers.
Batting first in the third ODI, India were bowled out for 219 runs. Batting in reply, the rain came when the Kiwis were in a strong position, scoring 104 runs for the loss of one wicket in 18 overs. Then the match was abandoned. Had the Kiwis played at least 20 overs, the match would have resulted. When play was stopped, New Zealand were leading by 50 runs under DRS rules. But the rain didn’t subside and they suffered a setback. Tom Latham is the player of the tournament. India’s next tour is Bangladesh. The tour will begin on December 4 with an ODI match. New Zealand’s next series is against Pakistan.
English Summary: How can you send out-of-form Rishabh Pant ahead of world’s No.1 batter?’: Salman Butt