India’s head coach Rahul Dravid shared his opinion Rishabh Pant, who led the national team during the recently concluded South Africa’s tour to India. Dravid has backed the wicket-keeper to shine for India and called the 24-year-old to be “an integral part” of the national side, despite his poor performances in the tournament.
Pant headed into the 5 match T20I series against South Africa after registering 340 runs in 14 games during IPL 2022 while hitting the ball at a strike rate over 150. The magnificent jump in his strike rate made cricket experts believe in Pant finally playing up to his full potential.
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However, the wicketkeeper-batter failed to get going against the Proteas, managing just 58 runs in the 4 T20I matches. The worrisome factor was Pants’ strike rate that dropped down to just 105.45 against South Africa. Despite Pant’s recent blip in form, Dravid is expecting him to play to his strengths and come out as an aggressive attacker for the national team as well.
Speaking with the media after the end of the 5th T20I, The Indian head coach said, “I thought he (Pant) had a pretty good IPL. He might not have looked good on the averages, but his strike rate was really good. He looked to move that up a little bit – to where he was probably three years ago. We’re going to hope that we can get those kinds of numbers from him at the international level as well. In that process, he might go wrong in a few games.
He vid added, “He (Pant) remains an integral part of our batting line-up. We know what he does with the power he has. The fact that he is a left-hander is very important to us as well in the middle overs. And he has played some good knocks. Of course, personally, he would have liked to have scored a few more runs but it’s not that concerning. For us, he is certainly a very big part of our plans going ahead in the next few months.”
Dravid will be keen on seeing all his preferred players get back to their finest with the ICC T20 World Cup in sight. With India set to play nearly 13 T20Is before the tournament in Australia, the upcoming games will play a crucial role for the national team head coach in determining what his World Cup squad would look like.
“As you come closer to events you want to be able to finalize your final squad as quickly as possible. We can only take 15 to the World Cup, but you want to have your top 18 or 20 players and that you are clear on that and what type of squad you want to take to the World Cup,” Dravid shared.
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Smit is a sports writer at Gutshot Magazine. After completing his Bachelor’s in Mass Media, and a Master’s degree in Sports Management, this sports fanatic uses articles as a tool to express his opinions. Bring up cricket or football and you will find this usually quiet guy speak for hours! He also co-heads the official supporters club of Chelsea FC in Mumbai, wherein he hosts screenings, football meets and other such events.
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