Aakash Chopra, the ex-India batsman, finds Rishabh Pant's approach while batting a 'huge concern' for the Indian cricket team. Pant hasn't been able to get runs on the England tour and he has scores of 25, 37, 22, 2, and 1 in the five innings of the Test series.
Chopra said if Pant doesn't score runs, it is going to be a big problem for him and the team. He also pointed out that the team opted for five bowlers trusting the youngster's batting ability and that's also one of the main reasons why the management picks him over Wriddhiman Saha.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, "Rishabh Pant is looking the big concern to me. The way he is batting, you are playing five bowlers because you know you have Rishabh Pant, who is a fabulous batsman, and that is why you are not playing Wriddhiman Saha."
"But if he doesn't score runs, it will be a problem. There will be a problem with his way of playing. Your team is stuck, and you are stepping out and playing. My way or the highway works, but I think that is an area of concern," he added.
Pant left his crease too often to tackle the swing bowling by England. However, the wicket-keeper batsman hasn't succeeded much with his tactics and he's mostly caught behind the wickets.
Chopra said the Indian team may prefer Ravindra Jadeja up in the batting order after Pant's failure to get runs lately. "In the next match, India might start thinking to promote Jadeja and demote Rishabh because the five-bowler theory looks good to hear, but it means Pant after Ajinkya, then Jadeja and four proper bowlers. It's not a great thing," he said.
Ollie Robinson has troubled Pant in the series as he dismissed the Indian four out of five times. "You expect from him, and you only throw stones at a tree that bears fruit. You look towards an X-factor and ask him to score runs. Rishabh Pant will have to really change his tack very quickly. He is a class player, but till now, his number is in Ollie Robinson's pocket," Chopra said after India's defeat by an innings and 76 runs at Leeds.
