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'Any other batter would have scored at least 150 from there': Rashid Latif slams Rishabh Pant batting at No. 4 for India
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif is critical of India's decision to make Rishabh Pant bat at No. 4 in ODIs.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif is critical of India's decision to make Rishabh Pant bat at No. 4 in ODIs. In the recently-concluded ODI series against South Africa, Pant batted at 4 in all three matches, scoring 16, 85 and 0, but despite the half-century he hit in the second game in Paarl, Latif feels that had there been any other batter, he would have scored a minimum of 150 runs and stayed till the end.
"It will be interesting to see how much longer Rishabh Pant plays at No. 4. At that position, you need a player who can take the game until the finish. Any other batter at 4 would have scored 150 and not even get out. When you are not winning, all players look ordinary, be in Kohli or Dhawan or Iyer… Pant played well but the rest looked ordinary," Latif said in a video on the YouTube channel 'Caught Behind'.
In 21 ODIs, Pant has batted at No. 4 in 11 matches, scoring 331 runs an at average of 30.09. Without Rohit Sharma, India explored their options, and Pant hasn't fared too badly. Once Rohit returns to the top, he is likely to open with the in-form Shikhar Dhawan, in which case, Virat Kohli will bat at 3 and KL Rahul will be pushed down to No. 4. With India’s focus being the T20 World Cup later this year and the 2023 World Cup on home soil, the key is to find a line-up that strikes balance.
Pant is most likely to bat at No. 5, with Ravindra Jadeja all but set to return and reclaim his No. 6 spot in the team as the all-rounder. What lies ahead for Hardik Pandya we don’t know, and the same goes for R Ashwin. With uncertainty hovering over so many star India players, Pant is a rare oddity who seems to have his places sealed in the Playing XI in all three formats.
