Rishabh Pant is becoming a liability, bring in Sanju Samson: Reetinder Sodhi

Former India cricketer Reetinder Sodhi has said that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is becoming a liability in the T20Is and the national selectors as well as the team management must now give chances to deserving candidates like Sanju Samson who have been waiting patiently for a long time.  

Even though Samson was included for the just-concluded T20Is in New Zealand, he was not selected for a single game and was made to warm the bench yet again. This did not go down well with the cricket fans as they vented out their anger at the team management on social media.

When you give too many chances, problems arise: Reetinder Sodhi

“He (Rishabh Pant) is becoming a liability for Team India. If it’s like this, then bring in Sanju Samson. End of the day, you got to take that chance because you cannot afford to lose and exit in World Cup or ICC tournaments. When you give too many chances, the problems arise. The time has come to provide opportunities to new guys," Sodhi said while speaking to India News.

“Only time will tell how many opportunities and how long he gets. Time is passing and he really has to tighten his shoes. Everything has a limit. You cannot depend on one player for so long. If he is not performing, you got to show him the exit door,” he added. 

Pant has been backed by the team despite not being able to score runs in the shortest format in the last few months. He scored a painstaking six runs off 13 deliveries in the second T20I against New Zealand. While the southpaw managed to get off to a good start in the decider in Napier, he was dismissed after scoring 11 runs from five balls.

The Delhi cricketer did not get too many chances in India’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign as veteran Dinesh Karthik donned the gloves. However, Pant could not grab the opportunities he got, with scores of 3 and 6 in India's final Super 12 encounter against Zimbabwe and the semi-final against England respectively.