Asia Cup 2022: WATCH – Rishabh Pant taken aback by team management’s decision to bat Hardik ahead of him vs Sri Lanka

Hardik Pandya was sent to bat at No. 5 in the Super-4 clash against Sri Lanka.

Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya | ScreengrabIndia wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is quite a funny character on and off the field. He once again drew everyone’s attention during India’s Asia Cup 2022 Super-4 clash against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday (September 6).

After skipper Rohit Sharma's dismissal in the 13th over, Hardik Pandya came out to bat for India at No. 5 against Sri Lanka. The decision of the team management stunned Pant as he was expecting himself to bat in that position.

See Also: “Got a good wakeup call,” Shoaib Akhtar after India’s successive defeats in Asia Cup Super 4s

In a video doing rounds on social media, Pant and Hardik were seen sitting together in the dugout.

Following Rohit’s wicket, the southpaw was about to put his gloves on when Pandya was seen gesturing towards the team management and getting the approval to bat at No. 5.

From Rishabh Pant's reaction, it appeared that he was taken aback by the decision of the team management.

Here’s the video:

Coming to the match against Sri Lanka, India posted 173/8 in their 20 overs on the back of skipper Rohit Sharma’s 41-ball 72.

In reply, the Island Nation got off to a flying start as the duo of Pathum Nissanka (52 off 37) and Kusal Mendis (57 off 37) put on 97 runs for the opening wicket.

While Sri Lanka suffered a mini-collapse in the middle overs and slipped to 110/4, the start was so good that it didn’t affect them. In the slog overs, captain Shanaka (33* off 18) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (25* off 17) produced stunning cameos to take their team over the line with six wickets and one delivery to spare.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 07 Sep, 2022

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