Is Rishabh Pant injured: The wicket-keeper batter has not been included in India’s playing XI in the opening match of Asia Cup 2022.
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During the first match of ‘Group A’ of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium, India’s Southpaw wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has been excluded from the playing XI, with KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik included as the two wicket-keeper batters in the side.
The return of KL Rahul, who is playing his first T20I this year, and the proven finishing ability of Karthik in the IPL this year, and the few T20s he has played in Indian colours post that, made it nearly impossible for skipper Rohit Sharma and the team management to ignore the 37-year-old.
However, Pant’s exclusion from the eleven, after having emerged as the first choice wicket-keeper batter in the team across formats, had left fans and a few of the former cricketers scratching their heads, as to why he missed out on a rather confirmed berth, especially in the all-important, high-octane clash against Pakistan.
Is Rishabh Pant injured
Having been a part of the training sessions till the ongoing match eve, the 24-year-old has been dropped from the playing XI, as it was a toss-up between him and Dinesh Karthik.
Rohit Sharma, post winning the Toss and deciding to field first, remarked, “It was a tough call we had to take between playing Dinesh and Rishabh, Rishabh sadly misses out.”
Leaving out Rishabh Pant is a huge call and a sign towards the favoured line-up at the T20 World Cup. It is also an acknowledgement of how India want to play with DK as a power finisher. Don’t be surprised to see Jadeja at no 5 today, though.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 28, 2022
A large part of the skipper and the rest of the think-tank to arrive at the crucial decision perhaps had to do with Pant’s number in the format, which have been ordinary, regardless of the reputation he has earned for himself across the cricketing fraternity in the past couple of years.
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Across 54 T20Is, Pant has scored 883 runs at an average of 23.86, with three half-centuries under his belt.
Having said that, he might have had an advantage against the likes of left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and leg-spinner Shadab Khan during the middle Overs.
