Reetinder Singh Sodhi believes it will not be too harsh if keeper Rishabh Pant is dropped from Team India’s playing XI for the third Test against South Africa.
Rishabh Pant was dismissed while playing an ungainly shot even before he opened his account in India’s second innings of the Johannesburg Test. Rahul Dravid mentioned in the post-match press conference that the team management would speak to the dashing wicketkeeper-batter about the timing of his shot selection.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi: Superstar Rishabh Pant Should Be Made To Sit Out The Next Match As A Lesson For Playing Bad Shot
During a discussion, Reetinder Singh Sodhi was asked if the Indian team should persist with Rishabh Pant under the circumstances. Rishabh Pant played a reckless shot even before he opened his account in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test. He danced down the track off the third delivery he faced from Kagiso Rabada and played an ugly hoick, only to get an edge to the wicket-keeper.
He responded: “There was a time when if you played a bad shot and your team suffered because of that, you were made to sit out the next match as a lesson. That is not the case now, Rishabh Pant is your superstar.”
The former India all-rounder added that it would not be a big deal if Rishabh Pant is left out of the side.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi reasoned: “But whether a big or small player makes a mistake, a mistake is a mistake. Rishabh Pant would have been spoken to a lot and it will not be a huge thing even if he is made to sit out as a lesson because these mistakes are happening repeatedly.”
The match was intriguingly poised when Rishabh Pant walked out to bat in the second innings at the Wanderers. However, his rash dismissal handed over the advantage to the Proteas, who subsequently went on to win the Test match and level the series.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi also believes that leaving out Ajinkya Rahane would be a big call for the tourists. Reetinder Singh Sodhi further opined that if Ajinkya Rahane gets a chance, given the rough patch he is going through, it would be a ‘lifeline’ for the Mumbai batter.
Saba Karim Expressed A Contrary View To That Of Reetinder Singh Sodhi
Saba Karim, however, expressed a contrary view to that of Reetinder Singh Sodhi.
He said: “He [Rishabh Pant] should definitely play. Has any big cricketer not played a shot like this before and gotten dismissed because of that? It used to happen in a different era, 20-25 years ago.”
The former selector highlighted that Rishabh Pant is a blessing for Team India and that the youngster would learn from his mistakes.
Saba Karim explained: “This is how you learn. You will have to talk to him and make that player understand, so that learns a lot from this. He is a huge asset to the team. We forget very quickly, would we have won the series in Australia if this player had not made runs.”
Rishabh Pant has played a significant role in some of Team India’s most memorable wins in the last year or so. However, the flamboyant cricketer has averaged just 19.23 with the bat in his last seven Tests, which has added to Team India’s middle-order woes.
Rishabh Pant had a lean patch in Test cricket since his last hundred at Ahmedabad. In 4-match series in England, he scored just 146 runs in 7 innings while in this ongoing series he scored just 59 runs in 4 innings.
Rishabh Pant had scored 274 runs at an average of 68.50 in five innings for India against Australia in 2020/21 Down Under. The keeper continued his form against England at home where he hit 270 runs at an average of 54.00 as he was the second-highest run-getter for India in the series.