Rishabh Pant’s luck finally shone when India Captain Rohit Sharma mentioned how unfair it would have been for the 25-year-old to play straight in the semi-final vs England. This statement 48 hours before T20 World The semi-final of the cup came after a journalist asked the captain why Pant, who was on the bench for all the Super 12 matches, played the last match against Zimbabwe. Does it mean Pant in Rohit’s mind? Because he was not there for more than fifty days.
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When India played their first Asia Cup against Pakistan, it was Pant and not DK who were up the pecking order. And so many were surprised when they saw DK in the playing XI after the toss. Also, no one knew that the Delhi keeper would sit out for the entire T20 World Cup before making it to the last Super 12 match against Zimbabwe where he didn’t seem to be himself at all! He entered with a score of 95/3, playing five balls and scoring just three runs. There was clearly a break in speed.
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And it’s not like he was ignored for no reason. His numbers were not in his favor. 14, 17, 20*, 27, 9, 9 and 3-in must have certainly played a role in changing Rohit’s mind.
Still, one cannot disagree that Pant is a big match player. Recently, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag had questioned why the management was pushing DK over Pant. “When did DK play in Australia… Pant broke the Gabba pride,” he asked on Cricbuzz. Like many other Pant fans, he was just saying that Pant has the ability to change the complexion of the big semi-final against England as you never know from his simple personality.
How can Pant be a game changer?
Australia’s pitches are not your typical subcontinent’s pitches. It’s not impossible to make the final push from the finisher DK to the final stage of the game. That’s all, as Sehwag said, Pant being a smarter player has a better chance of succeeding. Not to mention his familiarity with the conditions of the game. It should not be forgotten that Pant visited these shores in 2018 and kept wickets in Test matches. That’s enough time under the Australian sun!
Also, Pant has an advantage against the likes of Adil Rashid which usually turns it into a left-handed batsman. With short side boundaries in Adelaide, you’ll be backing him to clear nine out of ten times.
“The main debate or issue on Thursday will be what the captain and coach want in their playing XI. If they want a left-handed batsman up the order to destabilize England, they can go for Pant as he is a great option. But if they want a finisher they can take Karthik for the job,” former selector MSK Prasad told PTI in an interview.
DK’s repeated mistake made Pant a favorite
After repeatedly failing at number five, DK has somehow resurfaced the old wounds of 2019, where India struggled to find the right number four. This time in Australia, India missed out on a decent number five and nothing could be better than a flamboyant Pant, to whom he gives complete freedom. However, he makes a fool of himself and even gets scolded by the captain (read the Asia Cup dressing room footage), but in big game situations you either go out or play sneaky cricket which makes you a national pastime.
Rohit holds the door
Meanwhile, skipper Rohit Sharma won’t like to change and change a lot before the big semi-final as Pant’s flamboyance can always backfire. “What’s going to happen tomorrow? I won’t be able to reveal now, but they both will be in the game,” Rohit said at the pre-match press conference, knowing full well that if Pant doesn’t click and doesn’t contribute, he will have to It will be facing a lot of heat as India sabotage their first ICC final berth in more than five years.
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