Rishabh Pant again fails against Western Australia, fans say 'he needs break from T20Is'

The Indian cricket team is currently locking horns against Western Australia in a warmup T20 match, in preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. While Western Australia piled up the score of 168/8 in the first innings, wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant walked out to open the innings for India, alongside stand-in skipper KL Rahul. Following a slow start to the chase which included a maiden in the first over, Rishabh Pant suffered yet another disappointing outing. 

T20 World Cup: Pant disappoints again

Pant was dismissed by Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff in his third over of the powerplay. The 25-year-old hit nine runs in 11 balls, which included a six. Following his dismissal, Rishabh became a talking point for Indian cricket fans on social media.

Shedding their thoughts on the wicketkeeper’s form with the bat, fans criticized the youngster and suggested he should be rested from the T20I squad. “Yeah, Rishab Pant needs a break from T20Is. He can't complain that he wasn't given fair chances. And shouldn't be picked in the team till he scores back to back 400+ runs at a good SR in the IPL. Can't watch him fail again and again,” a fan said on Twitter. At the same time, there were many other fans who rallied in with the same suggestion. 

Rishabh Pant's stats in T20Is so far in his career

Amid the criticism directed towards Pant, a quick look at the stats suggest that Pant has struggled in the shortest format of the game. In the last 10 T20I matches that he has played, Pant has managed to score the highest of 44 runs against West Indies in August. Playing for the India T20I squad in 2022, he has managed to score 338 runs in 21 games at an average of 26.00 and 136.84.

Since his T20I debut for India in 2017, Pant has played a total of 62 games, while amassing 961 runs at an average of 24.03 and a strike rate of 127.45. He has scored only three half-centuries so far in his career after coming out to bat in 52 innings. With another disappointing outing against Western Australia on Thursday, his place in the playing XI for the T20 World Cup 2022 looks to be under concern.