Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar doesn’t think Rishabh Pant’s recent struggles with the bat will cost him a spot in Team India’s squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
Pant has been struggling with the bat in T20 cricket for a long time now, as he could muster just over 300 runs in the IPL 2022 and only 57 runs in his four outings in the T20I series against South Africa.
The way the young left-hander has been losing his wicket, making the same mistake of playing balls outside the off-stump and not being able to get rid of the pattern, many are raising questions about his place in India’s T20I squad.
However, Gavaskar backed Pant to come out of form.
Since T20 World Cup 2022 is around four months away, and India is scheduled to play a lot of T20I matches during the period, the legendary batter doesn’t think Pant should worry about his place for the ICC event, as he can prove himself in the upcoming matches.
Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports: “I don’t think so. It’s still early days. There are plenty of T20 matches still ahead. There is a T20I series in England, there is a T20I series in West Indies. I don’t think there is going to be any pressure on him. He is not the kind of character who takes pressure; he goes out and enjoys his cricket. And that’s the mindset that has brought him success.”
He added, “I will wait as there are still plenty of T20 matches before the World Cup. We can wait and then look at the form. We can decide anything but it’s up to the selectors to take the final call.”
Meanwhile, Gavaskar also lauded Pant's captaincy, as the young skipper learned from his mistakes quickly after India leveled the five-match T20I series 2-2 after losing the first two matches against South Africa. However, the final T20I washed out and the teams were forced to share the trophy.
He signed off by saying, “Very impressive, especially with the way he picked up from the first two matches where we felt it was not the right way to go as far as bowling changes are concerned. Clearly, he has learned from the mistakes and rectified it. He has kept his cool. It’s not easy being a wicketkeeper and a captain. It’s a very tricky position to be in. He is learning and learning fast.”
