IND vs WI 2022: "Reminds me of someone who put Sachin Tendulkar at the top back in 1994" - R Sridhar on Rishabh Pant's promotion as opener in T20Is
R Sridhar, the former fielding coach of Team India, has stated that Rishabh Pant playing as an opener in T20Is will be a massive advantage for the Men in Blue. He opined that the team management should give the wicketkeeper-batter some time to perform in his new role.
Sridhar opined that it would also make things easier for skipper Rohit Sharma, as the focus of the opposition teams would be on making plans for Rishabh Pant.
The 52-year-old suggested that asking Pant to open was quite similar to promoting Sachin Tendulkar to the top of the order in white-ball cricket. He reckons that this move could go down as one of the most significant moments in Indian cricket.
He said on cricket.com/tv's YouTube channel:
"It's a wonderful move because, first of all, it will free him up. It will give us a left-right combination too, which is so vital going into big tournaments. If Rishabh comes and opens, it will also free up Rohit Sharma because there is lot of attention on Rishabh.
"The bowling meetings will be spent talking about how to bowl to Rishabh in the powerplay, so that could give Rohit some space to do what he does. It is a positive move and it reminds me of someone who put Sachin Tendulkar at the top back in 1994.
"It could be a watershed moment in India's white-ball cricket. He may not fire straight away, but we need to persist with him."
With KL Rahul ruled out of the upcoming five-match T20I series against West Indies, Rishabh Pant is expected to play as an opener alongside Rohit Sharma, as he did during India's tour of England.
The left-hander had scores of 26 and 1 in his two T20I appearances against England as opener earlier this month.
India to take on West Indies in 1st T20I on July 29
India and West Indies are scheduled to battle it out in five T20I matches. The opening encounter of the rubber will be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Friday (July 29).
Senior players Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, who were rested for the ODI fixtures, will return to cricketing action with the T20I games against West Indies.
💬 💬 Here's what captain @ImRo45 said as #TeamIndia gear up for the #WIvIND T20I series. 👍 👍 https://t.co/eVZeUpNe4Y
India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.
In your opinion, what is the best batting position for Rishabh Pant in T20Is? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box down below.