IND vs SA | Rishabh Pant might find it hard to be in the team if he continues to struggle, opines Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan is of the opinion that Rishabh Pant might have to work hard to be in the national team if his struggle with the bat continues for a long time. Pathan also added that Pant is trying to hit the ball too hard while playing offside and is losing his shape in the process so far in series.
Rishabh Pant registered his maiden win in international cricket as captain on Tuesday against South Africa. Also, the team kept themselves alive in the series. However, the form of Rishabh Pant has been a worry for them. Pant has scored 723 runs at an average of 23.32 and strike rate of 126.18. In the series so far, he has scores of 29, 5, and 6. Reflecting on his poor run of form. Irfan Pathan has said that Pant might find it difficult to cement his place in the team if his struggle with the bat continues.
"He has got stuck a lot, you will have to perform. As of now, you are doing the captaincy but it is possible that going forward a time might come where you might have to work hard to play in the XI," Irfan said on Star Sports.
"You already have Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan as wicketkeepers in the playing XI and Sanju Samson is waiting, and KL Rahul (who can keep) is a name who I will always keep in my playing XI. I feel he (Rahul) is the best cricketer. So there is a lot of competition, you cannot keep your bat quiet for too long," he added.
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Find OutIn all his three dismissals, Pant was dismissed while trying to play a big hit on deliveries outside off stump. He was caught in the offside region near the boundary every single time in an attempt to clear the fence. Irfan Pathan decoded the reason behind his dismissal saying he is trying to hit the ball too hard on the off-side.Â
"I feel he tries to muscle the ball a lot when he plays on the offside. When you try to put the same power that you put while playing on the leg side while losing your shape, there will be problems. He is trying to hit too hard and hitting the ball in the air. Play along the ground there and hit in the air on the leg side," he revealed.