“We always think of Pant as a like-to-like replacement for Dhoni” – Saba Karim 

In an unprecedented move, Rishabh Pant was partnered alongside Rohit Sharma at the top of the order in the second ODI against West Indies. Former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim feels there is nothing wrong with the experimentation with the batting order.

Pant scored 18 runs off 34 deliveries and was dismissed by a stray short ball after a decent start. Karim notes that there is a stigma associated with the flamboyant player being a lower-middle order batter his predecessor, MS Dhoni succeeded in that role.

Claiming that the team management could potentially view him as a similar player to either Ganguly or Sehwag, Karim said on the Khelneeti podcast:

“I think the team management feels that Pant can offer a lot more to the team. Have tried him at No.4, he started off at No 5 and No 6. We always think of Pant as a like to like replacement for Dhoni, but it is possible that the team thinks he is a player similar to Sehwag or Ganguly. There is nothing wrong with this type of thinking.”

The 24-year-old made his first stride into the International circuit at the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he opened the batting with Ishan Kishan.

Settling into the national team following MS Dhoni’s departure, he was deployed at No.5 and 6. In recent times though, the management have promoted him to No.4 considering the left-right combination and Suryakumar Yadav’s fluency at No.5.

“I think it was to just let him spend some time in the middle and score runs” – Nikhil Chopra on the decision to promote Rishabh Pant

The ploy to promote the Delhi Capitals skipper at the top of the order largely backfired following a patchy innings. Former India player Nikhil Chopra assessed the team’s thinking behind the tactic and felt that they wanted him to face more deliveries without pressure. He said:

“Opening with Pant could either be for the powerplay runs, now were they seeing it as a long-term plan for the World Cup when Dhawan and Kishan return, or what I think was to just let him spend some time in the middle and score runs. The top-order batters can face a lot of deliveries or even deploy like Gilchrist or Jayasuriya in the powerplay.”

Also ReadArticle Continues below

Apart from U-19 cricket, the wicket-keeper batter has opened the innings on four occasions in the IPL , where he has scored 104 runs at a strike rate of 136.84.