Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was critical of Team India’s decision to send the struggling wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant ahead of the in-form batter Suryakumar Yadav in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand.
Pant had a forgettable rain-affected limited-overs tour of New Zealand, as the left-handed batter could manage only 6 and 11 in the T20I series and then scored only 15 and 10 in the ODI series.
Pant's form is a hot topic for discussion among cricket experts, as Sanju Samson was not given any chances because the latter was getting constant backing from the Indian cricket team management.
However, Butt didn’t discuss the Pant vs Samson debate but was surprised to see how Pant was batting ahead of Suryakumar in the ODI series against the Black Caps despite a string of poor performances. He also said Pant failed to live up to the expectations and hype around him.
Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel: “He's (Pant) a flashy player, plays with a lot of freedom but he hasn't been able to deliver the kind of performance that was expected of him in the current (New Zealand) series. He should have scored more runs.”
He added, “But I didn't understand why he was batting above Suryakumar Yadav. You are playing an out-of-form batter in place of someone who is in the form of his life and is playing his best cricket. The in-form player should play more overs. He's the No.1 batter and you are sending him below an out-of-form player.”
The former Pakistan opener also reckoned that the move can have an impact on Suryakumar’s form, as the No. 1-ranked T20I batter scored only 6 and 4 runs in the two ODIs against New Zealand.
Butt signed off by saying, “I don't know what's going on. This can impact an in-form player. I don't know whether this was the case here or not but a batter who is in the form of his life would want to play more deliveries.”
