'No need for him to give an audition' - Aakash Chopra backs 'x-factor' Rishabh Pant

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been facing a lot of criticism for his inconsistent form in T20I matches lately. He scored only 58 runs at a strike rate of 105.45 in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against South Africa and his numbers continue to downgrade in white-ball format. He has played 48 T20I matches so far but has scored only 741 runs at a strike rate of 123.91. His T20I statistics are raising doubts over his future involvement in white-ball cricket with the 2022 T20 World Cup being just four months away. However, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Pant offers an X-factor to the Indian team and should feature in the mega tournament in Australia.

The 24-year-old batter was named stand-in captain for the South Africa series after KL Rahul was ruled out due to a groin injury. However, the southpaw struggled in this new role as he made some surprising decisions regarding bowling rotation. He also came under heavy criticism for sticking with the same eleven throughout the series which ended in a 2-2 draw. Former Indian cricketers, including Sunil Gavaskar and Wasim Jaffer, are raising their voices regarding Pant’s current form. Former Indian pacers Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra also seemed okay with dropping Pant for the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan.

Rishabh Pant is our X-factor: Aakash Chopra

However, Chopra highlighted that Pant will be the only left-handed batting option in the upcoming World Cup with Ishan unlikely to get a chance to open ahead of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja is likely to play at the number seven position. He also feels that Pant is India’s X-factor in T20I matches and is very important to the team’s scheme of things.

“The third I feel is Rishabh Pant. He was the captain in the series and when someone is the captain, you feel that he is secure. A lot of people, including myself, were of the opinion that there was no need for him to give an audition because he is one of the first names you would want to put when you prepare the squad,” Aakash Chopra told in his latest YouTube video.

“He is our X-factor. You get only one left-hander in the entire batting order, the rest are all right-handers. You never know whether Ishan Kishan will get a chance or not and Jaddu comes in the end, so Rishabh Pant is very, very important and integral to India’s scheme of things,” he added.