All eyes will be on Rishabh Pant during the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, as the young wicketkeeper-batter is yet to make any significant impact in the shortest format of the game this year.
Pant is yet to play any significant knocks in T20Is as he does in Tests and ODIs. However, the left-hander will have a great opportunity to prove his critics wrong in New Zealand, as senior stars like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli were rested from the white-ball series.
Well, Pant can be promoted to the top order in the absence of Rohit and Rahul, and Robin Uthappa has also backed the youngster to open alongside Shubman Gill in the T20I series against New Zealand.
The former cricketer believes that Pant can revive his T20I career if he is promoted up the batting order.
Robin Uthappa was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda: “Rishabh Pant should open the innings in the New Zealand series, he should definitely play at the top of the order. I think in T20 cricket, that's where he has been at his best and that is where he will thrive going forward as well.”
He added, “He is a match-winner, a game-changer, and he can easily win matches for India single-handedly with his batting. I think he will be a huge player in T20 cricket over the course of the next 10 years.”
Notably, Pant has so far played 22 T20Is for India in 2022 and could manage only 337 runs at an average of less than 30, and even he had lost his place in the team before being recalled for the England series in March.
