3 reasons why Rishabh Pant would have walked into India's 2011 World Cup-winning squad
Rishabh Pant has been a fan-favourite in recent times due to his impact performances for the Men in Blue. Since the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, he has been a regular for team India in all three formats of the game.
Pant has an impressive ODI record. He has scored 840 runs in 24 innings at an average of 37 and a strike rate of 109. These are good numbers for a youngster who is batting in a volatile position in modern-day ODI cricket.
In this article, we will take a look at three reasons why Pant would have made it to the squad, and possibly also the playing XI of India's 2011 World Cup winning side.
Rishabh Pant, you beauty!
Take a bow 💯💥👏
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#1 Excellent player of spin in Asian conditions
Rishabh Pant has a reputation for going berserk against spinners. While that is true, he is also a technically sound batsman against slow bowling. He was the Player of the Series against Sri Lanka in March 2022 and had a good home series vs England in 2021. Although these were Test matches, they were played on pitches assisting spinners. He looked at ease even as the top-order struggled.
Facing the likes of Muthiah Muralitharan, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Tahir, Graeme Swann and Shahidi Afridi would have been a great test of his capabilities against spin. Pant has dominated some of the finest spinners in the world at present, but the 2011 WC had some of the best quality spin bowling in the history of World Cup cricket.
He is also extremely good when it comes to taking singles against spin bowling. It would have been interesting to see his approach in the middle-overs while batting with the likes of Gambhir, Kohli, Dhoni and Yuvraj.
#2 Explosive power-hitter
Rishabh Pant has a career strike rate of 109 in 24 ODI innings. He has hit 26 sixes in his short career. While these numbers may not be that staggering for someone of his caliber, they are still impressive for someone just starting out in the 50-over format.
In the other two formats, we have had a better glimpse of his six-hitting prowess. He has the capability to take the game away from the opposition when his team is in a dire situation and when his team is dominating.
His power-hitting skills were best seen in the 2018 edition of the IPL. He scored over 600 runs that season at a strike rate of more than 170 - almost freakish numbers for someone who was not even a regular in the national team at that point.
#3 Left-handed batter with an X factor
A sensational knock from Rishabh Pant ✨
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If the current version of Rishabh was a part of that WC squad, the batting order on paper would be have been something like this - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Pant and MS Dhoni. This order has three quality left-handed batters, which is always a bonus for any limited-overs side.
The best part about this batting would have been the fact that all three of Pant, Yuvraj and Dhoni could float according to the match situation, appropriate match-ups and the requirements of the team. With the likes of Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan also in the squad, this batting unit would have been a truly fomidable one.
The wicket-keeper batsman has that X factor in his game. He has been 'clutch' for the national team across formats. His ability to soak up pressure and dominate opposition attacks is why he is such a world-class talent.