India should think of getting Rishabh Pant into middle-order: Brad Hogg concerned about KL Rahul's form after failure in IND vs PAK T20 World Cup match
Former Indian cricketer Brad Hogg believes Team India should find a way to bring Rishabh Pant into their playing XI at the T20 World Cup 2022.
The Men in Blue have preferred to use the experience of Dinesh Karthik over Pant in recent times. One of the ways Hogg feels the Men in Blue can bring Pant in is by asking Virat Kohli to open the innings. This could in turn see KL Rahul drop out of the playing squad.
Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Rahul looked anything but fluent against Pakistan on Sunday (October 23) and got out cheaply. Brad Hogg feels the latter may not be aggressive enough to help Rohit settle at the crease and bat deep.
Answering questions from fans in a video on his YouTube channel, Hogg explained the importance of teams getting off to a solid start. He also stressed how vital having firepower in the middle order can be to a team's chances. He said:
"The strike rate might be an issue at the top of the order. Although Virat has dominated at No. 3, I feel the team can think of sending him to open and get Pant into the middle order. It may not always come off, but you need that power game in the middle overs."
Kl Rahul in Big matches
0 (1) Qualifire 1 RCB vs GL
9 (11) in 2016 IPL final
1 (7) in 2019 wc semifinal
3 (8) vs Pak in t20wc
78 (60) in eliminator 2022 IPL
0 (1) vs Pak in Asia cup
28 (20) vs Pak super 4
4 (8) vs Pak wc 2022
Only 1 decent innings that too after Statpadding
Brad Hogg was also asked a question regarding young Shubman Gill replacing KL Rahul in the future in T20I cricket. On this, he added:
"You need someone aggressive at the top of the order to let either of Rohit and Virat bat through the innings. If [Hardik] Pandya hadn't got those sixes in the middle overs at the right time [vs Pakistan], it could have been curtains for India. Someone like Gill can take the pressure off at the top of the order."
Brad Hogg wants Rohit Sharma to learn from Ricky Ponting
Brad Hogg feels Rohit Sharma is letting his captaincy affect the way he is batting. Rohit looked tentative against Pakistan and some believe the pressure of the occasion didn't let him play the attacking brand of cricket he has been vocal about.
However, Hogg advised the Indian captain to follow what Australian legend Ricky Ponting used to do when he led his team. On this, he stated:
"I feel it (captaincy) has taken a bit of freedom away from Rohit Sharma. Virat used to thrive in captaincy, but I feel Rohit is looking a bit tentative and a bit conservative in his mindset.
"He should take a leaf out of Ricky Ponting's book. He should be the captain only when he is on the field and think just about scoring runs when he walks out to bat."
Next up, India will take on the Netherlands in their next game at the T20 World Cup on October 27.
Can Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul find their form in the rest of the T20 World Cup? Let us know in the comments.