'Why Not?'- Ashish Nehra on whether India can play T20Is without Rishabh Pant

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra reckons that India can do well in T20Is even without wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Giving further clarification on the same, Nehra said that Pant’s dismissal has been a cause for concern as he is unable to break the pattern of getting out in a ridiculous manner by playing poor shots.

The Delhi cricketer is currently captaining India in the ongoing home series against South Africa in KL Rahul’s absence after the latter was ruled out due to a groin injury. The series is currently tied at 2-2 with the decider being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The match has been reduced to 19 overs a side due to rain.

Rishabh Pant can do some tactical changes: Ashish Nehra

“He can do a tactical change. He can use the crease and decide where would he stand. He can move towards off stump so that he can come closer to the ball,” said Ashish Nehra while interacting on Cricbuzz Live.

“You must also see, how the bowlers have found a pattern. But the thing that concerns me is that he is not able to break the pattern of getting out ridiculously”, he added.

“The question this person asked was ‘can Team India play T20 cricket without Pant? Yes, Why Not. T20 World Cup is very far away. There is no stamp that says Pant will surely play the T20 World Cup. He can also get injured. But there are lot of games in between. We will have ten T20Is and then the Asia Cup”, he further added.

Rishabh Pant has been ordinary with the bat in the ongoing series with scores of 17, 6, 5, and, 29 respectively. While the southpaw did get off to a good start in the last game at Rajkot, he failed to convert it into an impactful knock. The youngster would now be desperate to make amends in the fifth and final T20I as India look forward to sealing the series.