Irfan Pathan backs Rishabh Pant to excel in the finisher's role for India

Rishabh Pant missed out on yet another chance to play for his country on Friday as India decided to stick to KL Rahul as their wicket-keeper in the first T20I against New Zealand. Rahul’s impressive glovework in the recent ODI series against Australia at home has helped India not only to find a solution to the Pant puzzle but also make their line-up flexible.

Rahul, who effected his first-ever stumping in international cricket against Australia recently, did not get any success in Auckland but the support for him was still robust. While the fans were left wondering about the future of Pant who is in the squad, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who recently quit cricket, was confident that the former would still be backed by the team management.

He also suggested a new role for Pant who has made a mark with his batting talent in the first year of making an international debut.

Irfan Pathan confident of Pant’s abilities

According to the 35-year-old Irfan Pathan, the Men in Blue can find a good finisher in Rishabh Pant, given his ability to hit big shots. He felt the way the 22-year-old has batted with authority in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the southpaw can prove to be a great finisher for India. Pant has not got as much success with the bat in limited-overs as he has in Tests and his ordinary keeping has added to his woes.

“The team management is going to keep backing Rishabh Pant. The situation with him is, that they are going to find a good finisher in him. That’s why they are investing in him,” Pathan replied to former India wicket-keeper-batsman Deep Das Gupta on Star Sports when asked about Pant.

“He hasn’t shown that yet. But we have seen in the IPL he has finished the game and won the games for Delhi Capitals. That’s what they see him doing in the future, and hence they keep persisting with him,” Pathan added.

The former cricketer suggested that if Rishabh Pant comes in to bat at No.6 and Hardik Pandya comes in at No.7, India will have a solid lower order in the shortest format that often sees tight finishes. Apart from Pant, India have another wicket-keeper-batsman in their squad in New Zealand in Sanju Samson. The Kerala cricketer was picked as the replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan who was ruled out.