'His strike rate is highest when he bats there. He can go gung-ho in...': Karthik on Pant's ideal batting spot in T20Is
With the T20 World Cup over and India looking to make a fresh start, Dinesh Karthik opened up on what could be the ideal batting spot for Rishabh Pant in T20Is.
Rishabh Pant burst into the scene five years back owing to his prowess in T20 cricket. But while Pant has become a bigger name in Test cricket following his hundreds in Australia and England, and somewhat in ODIs as well, he struggles to find a spot in the shortest format. In the last T20 World Cup, he managed only a few appearances with India preferring Dinesh Karthik over him. With the tournament over and India looking to make a fresh start, Karthik opened up on what could be the ideal batting spot for Pant in T20Is.
Karthik was not picked for the three-match New Zealand series while Pant has been included along with back-up wicketkeeping options in Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.
Speaking to Cricbuzz on Friday during the washed out 1st T20I match in Wellington, Karthik admitted that India have found it difficult to fit in Pant because of batters like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya in the line-up which implies, he has to either bat down the order, which he doesn't, or bat up the order, which he has rarely done.
“When it comes to Rishabh Pant, I think he has sealed his spot in Test cricket and to a large extent in ODI cricket as well. In T20s, he bats in a different position for his franchise and comes in a different spot in the Indian team and they are trying to figure out where to fit him. When you have Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, where do you fit in a Rishabh Pant? We do need a left-hander, but where do we play him? We know what Kohli does at No.3. Let's not even talk about Suryakumar Yadav, he's the best in the business in the world,” he said.
Karthik feels that Pant likes to bat when the field is up during the powerplay and his career strike rate is far better against the new ball than it is in the middle or the death overs, and hence should open for India. He also urged the management to be patient with the youngster and back him despite early failures.
“Immediately we come down to Pant at No.5. Do we want him to bat there or let see if we can give him the opportunity to open. Because we know one think for sure, his ability to play shots. And when the field is up, he can go gung-ho in the powerplay so we can give him the opportunity to open. Interestingly, his strike rate is highest when he opens. He likes the field up, he likes to take on bowlers and put them under pressure. He is second to none when it comes to stroke play and has baffled a lot of international bowlers of high pedigree. We need to embrace the fact that there will be a few failures from him, but he is a terrific player.”