IND vs PAK 2022: He loves these challenges - Saba Karim on Rishabh Pant's best position in Indian lineup
Saba Karim believes opening will be the best position for Rishabh Pant in T20I cricket as the youngster loves challenges.
India will lock horns with Pakistan in their first Super 4 game of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai on Sunday, September 4. It will be interesting to see if Pant, who missed the Group A fixture between the two sides, is part of the Men in Blue's combination for the crunch game.
During an interaction on the Sports 18 show 'Sports Over the Top', Karim was asked about his views on Pant's ideal batting position. He responded:
"Honestly speaking, I think the best position for Rishabh Pant to bat is in the opening slot. He is multi-dimensional, he can play different kinds of roles and if you send him up the order the left and right-hand combination will work very well for India, plus he loves these challenges."
Karim believes the dashing southpaw can play a substantial knock if he gets a good start in the powerplay overs. The former India wicketkeeper-batter said:
"While playing in the powerplay, there are challenges ahead of him because you have more fielders inside the circle, you can always go over the top, and once he gets into that kind of a groove he can also go on and play a big innings in T20 format."
Kl Rahul as an opener in T20Is is something I never liked! I would rather prefer opening with Rishabh Pant even if that means a lot of risk! #INDvHK #AsiaCup2022
Pant opened for India in two T20Is against England in July this year. However, he did not enjoy great success and was pushed back into the middle order against the West Indies, with Suryakumar Yadav playing as an opener instead.
Rohit Sharma is far more comfortable playing with 3 seam bowlers" - Saba Karim on whether Ashwin or Bishnoi can replace Avesh
Karim was also asked if either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravi Bishnoi could replace Avesh Khan in the Indian XI for the clash against Pakistan. He replied in the negative, reasoning:
"Those two are the spinners that one can try out but I have always found that Rohit Sharma is far more comfortable playing with three seam bowlers plus Hardik Pandya as their fourth pace bowler and I don't think Rohit Sharma would like to change that kind of a combination, especially in a big game like Pakistan."
Karim also gave a couple of other reasons as to why the Men in Blue should persist with the Indore-born pacer. The former India selector pointed out:
"In the first game against Pakistan, it was the short-pitched deliveries that our pace bowlers bowled that upset the so-called rhythm of the strong batting attack of Pakistan. One should also not forget that it is just one game that both Avesh and Arshdeep have leaked runs, otherwise in the first game against Pakistan, they were spot-on."
Avesh Khan now has the worst economy rate in a calendar year for India in T20is - 9.10 (minimum 25 overs).
Avesh has conceded 72 runs in the six overs he has bowled in the Asia Cup so far. The Indian team management will, however, have to stick with him if they want to play three specialist seamers.