Former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra said that it would be interesting to see how long the Indian team management will back the new opening pair of Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan in T20Is.
India opted for a fresh opening pair in the form of Pant and Ishan, but it didn’t work out, especially for Pant, who was dismissed after making just six in the second T20I against New Zealand. However, Team India won the match by 65 runs, thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s second T20I century.
Well, after the match, Nehra said that Indian team management must clear their own minds as well as the players’ about their plans and batting positions so that there won’t be any confusion.
Ashish Nehra said on Prime Video: “Yes, Rishabh Pant did not look in good touch. He did hit one boundary at the start but did not find his timing later on. Especially in these conditions, you just can't look to hit the ball hard and you have to look at timing the ball well. And few times even Ishan Kishan, he was beaten but he stayed there and now is looking good, but we have seen him better than this.”
The former cricketer further warned Pant and Ishan that it won't be easy for them, as the pressure is entirely different in international cricket as compared to the IPL.
Explaining the difference between playing in the IPL and international cricket, Nehra said: “The thing is that IPL and international cricket are different ball games, there is a different pressure, different mindset, I want to see how much does this opening pair get backed by the team management.”
In T20I cricket, he also suggested that batters look to time the ball rather than hit it hard.
He signed off by saying, “The kind of conditions today, there was a little bit for the bowlers. I want to see what they do with their opening options, main thing is that they cannot be confused.”
