Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif said that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant did not do anything wrong to be removed from Test and white-ball vice captaincy despite his poor IPL run as a batter and captain for Lucknow Super Giants, noting that there is no bigger match-winner for India with the bat in Tests than him. After another underwhelming IPL season with the bat and as a captain, Rishabh was removed from the Test vice-captaincy, with the role now handed to veteran opener KL Rahul for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting from June 6.
Speaking on JioStar, Kaif said, “Rishabh Pant has not done anything wrong. Red-ball and white-ball cricket are two very different formats. You are judging him based on the IPL, saying that he is not doing a good job as captain, that his team is losing, and that he is not scoring runs. But I believe there is no bigger match-winner for India in Tests, as a batter, than Rishabh Pant.”
In the ongoing IPL, Rishabh has struggled to recapture his magic in the shortest format, which shot him to stardom years back, having scored just 286 runs in 12 innings at an average of 28.60 and a strike rate of over 140, with just one half-century. His team also sits at the bottom of the points table, with just four wins in 13 matches, and has missed its chance of reaching the playoffs.
Kaif pointed out that the problem lies in people mixing up formats and questioned why the Jammu and Kashmir pace sensation Auqib Nabi did not get a call-up despite doing well in the Ranji Trophy, questioning if underwhelming returns in the IPL played a role. He also questioned why selectors speak of 35-year-old pacer Mohammed Shami being sidelined because of his age, but KL is still around at 34 years of age, calling for the selectors to be “consistent,” JioStar expert Kaif said.
“KL Rahul is 34 years old. On one hand, you do not pick Mohammed Shami, saying that age is not on his side and that you are looking at younger players. So, I would want them to be consistent. Either go by form, regardless of age, and if you are scoring runs or taking wickets, you should get picked. Because I think Rishabh Pant deserved to continue as vice-captain,” he signed off.
India Test squad vs Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel.
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