‘Can’t move away because he did something else in another format’ – Indian cricketer backs Rishabh Pant despite criticism

Rishabh Pant was released from the Indian ODI series squad ahead of the first ODI against Bangladesh. There were no specifications in the statement released by Indian Cricket Board on Pant’s departure. The news came amid the ongoing criticism over his form and subsequently his performance in the ODI squad as India began their preparations for the ODI World Cup 2023. But the Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik had given a forthright statement about the left-hand batter as he come to defend him. 

The wicketkeeper batter was with Men in Blue for the T20I and ODI series against New Zealand where he played two T20Is and two ODIs each. He scored 17 runs in two matches in the T20I series and 25 in the 50-overs series. While speaking to Cricbuzz before the Bangladesh series, Karthik urged critics to not judge Pant’s slot in the ODI squad by his stats in T20Is. 

“We need to look at it separately. In one-day cricket in the last 10 innings, he averages 45-plus. He obviously got the match-winning score of 120 (125 not out) in the recently concluded series in England. So he’s done very well for himself and when someone has done very well for himself, you cannot look at him and say ‘Oh he should be from one-day cricket,” he said.

That’s not how we need to look at things: Dinesh Karthik

“I think, you know, you need to give him the opportunity to be out there and do well and if he doesn’t do well, then move on. But you can’t just move away because he has done something else in another format. I think that’s something that’s unfair to the player as well.

“I think because of the amount of cricket, especially T20 that is played, obviously, they are comparing that and adding those scores and saying, ‘Oh, he hasn’t done well. That’s not how we need to look at things.”

In Pant’s absence, KL Rahul was selected as the wicketkeeper for the Mirpur fixture on Sunday where he scored a crucial half-century and dropped a crucial catch in India’s one-wicket loss.