NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant is “messing up” his chances and should be given a break from international cricket to reinvent his game, feels former chairman of selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth.
Pant has looked subdued in limited overs cricket this year, scoring just one fifty in the shortest format way back in February against the West Indies, while crossing the 30-run mark only twice in the 21 innings that he has played in 2022.
In ODIs, the 25-year-old had two fifties and a hundred in the nine innings he has played this year.
“Maybe you can give him (Pant) a break and tell him ‘just wait a bit, come and play in India’, they haven’t handled him well.
Are you going to wait for a couple of matches before giving him a break or remove him after one or two games?” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.
“Yes, Rishabh Pant is not utilising the chances he’s getting. I am very disappointed – ennada Pant-u (what is this Pant)?” he added.
Pant scored only 17 runs in the T20I series against New Zealand, while he was dismissed for 15 in the first ODI.
“You are messing up these chances. If you smash into such matches, it’ll be good right? The World Cup is coming up.
Already a lot of people are saying that Pant isn’t scoring so it’ll add fuel to the fire,” Srikkanth, a former India opener, said.
“He’s going to put pressure on himself. He needs to reinvent himself. He has to do something right – stand and play for a while and then go for it…He’s throwing his wicket away all the time.” India will take on New Zealand in the third and final ODI on Wednesday in Christchurch.
—PTI

Press Trust of India