Aakash Chopra insists THIS player must be in India’s T20I squad
Chopra argues that Pant has not received recognition he deserves for his contributions in T20Is
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on Monday expressed surprise over Rishabh Pant not being included in India’s T20I squad and has called for the wicketkeeper-batter’s selection.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted Pant’s strong numbers in the shortest format.
“When Rishabh Pant bats from numbers one to three, he has scored his runs at a strike rate of 156 and has an average of 34, which is good. However, we will not talk about the top three,” he said.
The former opener also pointed out that Pant was India’s third-highest run-scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup, a fact he feels has been overlooked.
“When you look from numbers four to seven, he has a strike rate of 140 and an average of 30. It’s still okay,” stated Chopra.
“The one thing that goes in his favor, and I am very surprised that no one talks about it, is that he was India’s third-highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup we won,” he added.
Chopra argued that Pant’s impact merits greater discussion when evaluating India’s most effective T20I batters.
Chopra argued that Pant had not received the recognition he deserved for his contributions in T20 internationals
“It seems like a fly has been taken out of milk and thrown away. No one is talking about him. Of course, the IPL not being that good might be one of the reasons, but not even coming into the conversation is a strange one,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention that Pant has played 47 Tests, 31 ODIs and 76 T20Is for India. However, the wicketkeeper-batter has been out of T20I action since India’s T20 World Cup win in 2024.
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