Irfan Pathan believes that things will be tough for Rishabh Pant if he continues to struggle for runs, as Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik are in line to take his spot as keeper in the Indian cricket team.
Pant’s struggle with the bat has continued from the IPL 2022, as he could manage just 40 runs in his three appearances in the ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa at home.
However, he is captaining the India team in the T20I series, but still, people were hoping for a better performance from the left-hander against South Africa. If Pant doesn’t return to his form as soon as possible, he would certainly lose his place to Ishan or Karthik in the T20I team, as they are scoring well and can even do wicket keeping for the Men in Blue.
Irfan Pathan said during a discussion on Star Sports: “He has got stuck a lot, you will have to perform. As of now, you are doing the captaincy but it is possible that going forward a time might come where you might have to work hard to play in the XI.”
The former all-rounder continued, “You already have Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan as wicketkeepers in the playing XI and Sanju Samson is waiting, and KL Rahul (who can keep) is a name who I will always keep in my playing XI. I feel he (Rahul) is the best cricketer. So there is a lot of competition, you cannot keep your bat quiet for too long.”
Irfan said that Pant is a "superstar" and he can become the most fantastic cricketer, but he is yet to meet the expectations.
The cricket expert added, “The T20 game is his, that's what I believe. There is no doubt that Rishabh Pant is a superstar player. He is a 24-year-old boy, if he plays for the next 10 years, he can become the most fantastic cricketer but that result has not come till now.”
He signed off by saying, “I feel he tries to muscle the ball a lot when he plays on the off side. When you try to put the same power that you put while playing on the leg side while losing your shape, there will be problems. He is trying to hit too hard and hitting the ball in the air. Play along the ground there and hit in the air on the leg side.”
