The Indian cricket team arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday (December 1) for a three-match ODI and two-match Test series against the Tigers. The tour will begin with the first ODI in Dhaka on December 4.
All eyes will be on Rishabh Pant on the Bangladesh tour, as the wicketkeeper-batter has already endured poor form in 2022 in limited-overs cricket, and on Team India’s most recent tour of New Zealand, he scored only 25 runs in two ODIs at an average of just 12.5.
The youngster also managed just 17 runs in the two T20Is against New Zealand. Well, if Pant’s poor form continues, there are high chances of him getting dropped from the team in both white-ball formats.
Reacting to his struggles with the bat, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that if Pant fails to find form in the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh, he might be dropped from India’s white-ball set-up for the next fixtures.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel: “Rishabh was the vice-captain on the New Zealand tour, but he won’t be in that role in Bangladesh. Ishan Kishan is also there in the mix. But the team may look at KL Rahul as a keeper-batter as Shikhar Dhawan is also there in the squad.”
The commentator added, “Pant continues to be the talking point. His record in ODIs is superior to T20Is. He had the chance twice and the time to take advantage of it, but he wasn’t able to make the most of it. In my opinion, he is still on thin ice. It is definitely a tightrope walk for him.”
He concluded, “The team’s vice-captain for the New Zealand tour might not be selected for the squad for the forthcoming home matches if he doesn’t play well in the Bangladesh ODIs. Overall, he was unable to make use of his opportunity in New Zealand, and as a result, his future won’t be that easy.”
