Rishabh Pant. An enigma. One of the most pulsating batters of his generation. A player who seems to have graduated from the T20 School of Batting due to his approach. Yet, T20 remains the format that he doesn’t seem to have cracked, especially at the international level. Pant will probably go down as one of the biggest match-winners or game-changers for India in Test cricket. His ODI game is only improving with time, but he struggles in T20I – the format he seems most likely to dominate.
During a T20 World Cup year, all games leading to the event are crucial for players to put their hand up for a spot in the squad. In a dynamic current world situation, where even the off-field scenarios could affect a player’s selection, it is vital for the players to make the most of their chances. In recent years, IPL has played a huge role in bringing certain cricketers into the reckoning for their national T20 teams just before the mega event.
A good IPL season before a T20 World Cup could catapult players to the squad ahead of proven players. Pant made a stunning comeback to form in the 2022 IPL after a couple of sub-par seasons with the bat. Pant was also tasked to lead India in place of stand-in captain, KL Rahul. However, Pant had a forgettable series with the bat.
The South African series and his recent international returns for India in T20Is have made people and pundits think – Is Rishabh pant a certainty in India’s first-choice XI for the T20 World Cup? In this piece, we use his stats to justify his exclusion/inclusion in the Indian T20I team.
What goes against Pant?
Barring any injuries, India will have a top-order of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. While all three have been prolific for India for several years, their game against spinners has been indifferent. Sharma and Kohli are most likely to bat through the innings with others batting around them. In them, India have dominant pace-hitters. However, for them to bat through, they need a player who can attack the spinners.
As seen above, Pant’s record against spin is a mediocre one. He might be averaging 84 against the right-arm off-spinners, usually a negative matchup for left-handers, but his almost run-a-ball strike rate against them means he prefers to preserve his wicket against that bowling type at the cost of a lower strike rate. India cannot afford a majority of their top-four batters doing that.
Judging by the batting order against South Africa, Pant is most likely to bat at number four for India. 22 of Pant’s 42 international innings have come at that position. 19 batters have batted for India at number four in T20Is. Of those, nine have scored more than 100 runs. Pant’s strike rate of 121.5 and average of 17.84 at that position are the lowest amongst those nine batters.
Reasons for Pant’s inclusion
All of the other probable players in India’s first-choice top-six are right-handers. Wrist- spinners are likely to play a bigger role in Australia, possibly acting as a negative match-up for the right-handers. Although Pant’s international returns against spinners are modest, he’s probably and realistically the only left-handed batting option that India can field in their top-six to counter that threat.
Despite Pant’s failure to create a huge impact at the international level, he remains one of the best batters available in that Indian middle-order. His stats in IPL show that he certainly has the ability to dominate and take apart international bowlers, and it would only be a matter of time before Pant fires on the international stage.
After receiving public backing from Rahul Dravid, it is now up to Pant to repay the current team management’s faith. A firing Rishabh Pant in the middle order could change the dynamics of how India approach the shortest format.