The DC captain could not have received a worse blow than this one, as the selectors are about to choose the T20 team for the World Cup next week.
In T20 cricket, Rishabh Pant at last delivered an innings reminiscent of Rishabh Pant! In front of a raucous crowd at home in Delhi, he smashed an unbeaten 88 off only 43 deliveries, including 31 runs off the last over of the innings by Mohit Sharma. It was spectacular and amazing.
Pant had his first memorable performance in the competition. The blow could not have come at a better moment for the captain of the District of Columbia, as selectors are preparing to choose the T20 team for the World Cup next week. So, the crucial issue is: Has Pant accomplished enough to merit a spot as the Americas and Caribbean’s first-choice keeper? Does he belong in the pecking order over Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, and Ishan Kishan? What is the current state of his IPL form? Has he shown his abilities in the Indian format?
IPL 2024 will feature only one exceptional performance.
In absolute terms, 342 runs in 9 innings at a 48.9 average and a 161.3 strike rate is pretty good, but that’s the trouble with averages and aggregates—they don’t show the whole story! It was a squandered chance, 18 of 13 from 74 for 2 in 8 overs against the Punjab Kings. During the 186-run chase against the Royals, the Capitals lost by 12 runs because to Pant’s slow 28 off 26 deliveries at number four.
He lost to MI, leaving for a lonely one in the difficult pursuit of 235. The bowlers set up the win against the Titans, and while Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs gave him a fantastic platform, he made a dismal 35-ball 44 in the 267-run chase against the Sunrisers. To put things in context, when Pant came to bat at 135/4 in the ninth over, the equation favored DC since his existing run rate of 15.6 far exceeded the needed rate of 11.6! Pant seems to have given it little effort at times.
Throughout the competition, Pant’s undefeated 88 off 43 deliveries remains his lone standout effort. In the three other games he has played, he has scored 51 off 32 in the victory over CSK in Visakhapatnam, 41 off 24 against the Super Giants, but the match was already decided in the top half of the order by Prithvi Shaw and Jake Fraser-McGurk in a comparatively modest chase of 168, and a blistering 55 off 25 from 27 for 3 in a losing cause while chasing 273 against the Knight Riders. The match was decided in the powerplay, so Pant was not under any pressure.
So, nine innings and one outstanding effort. Is that what one would anticipate from a person of Pant’s caliber? Let’s look at his most recent IPL performance.
Fantastic 2018 and 2019 but little profits after that
Pant, the devastating IPL batsman, reached the pinnacle of his career in 2018 and 2019, smashing 1172 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 169 in only 30 innings. His ratio of balls to boundary was 4.1.
But over the following several seasons, he saw a sharp decline in performance, unable to not only put up huge scores but also to make the cameos. Pant’s strike rate in 2020 was 114, while in 2021 it was 128.5. 2022 saw him regain some of his form, although he finished the season without recording a fifty.
Unimpressive T20I hitter
To analyze that Pant has never been a terrific T20I hitter doesn’t need advanced science! He has really been a bad one. With only three fifty-score innings, Pant has amassed 987 runs at an average of 22.4 and a strike rate of 126.4 in 56 innings. This implies that he hasn’t really excelled or scored well with the frequent cameos in the format.
Why, therefore, is Pant so highly regarded even though he has had middling success in the previous several IPL seasons and has not performed particularly well for India in the format?
A remarkable skill in Test cricket
The heroics of Pant throughout the Test are legendary. Everyone in the cricketing world has taken notice of his extraordinary skill for the format, from his undefeated 89 in the fourth innings’ chase at The Gabba in 2021 to his hundreds at the SCG, Edgbaston, The Oval, Cape Town, and Ahmedabad.
The Indian think-tank and selectors had anticipated that Pant would fulfill this promise in the limited-over forms as well, but despite his success in ODIs, the wicket-keeper batsman has struggled in T20I cricket.
His block against the Titans in Delhi served as just another reminder to the world of his abilities in the sport. There were hints of the 2018 and 2019 Pant. And for that reason, the think tank is prepared to gamble on Pant.
But at what loss of opportunity?
What is the cost of opportunity in adding Pant?
Dinesh Karthik has made four significant contributions this season and has a strike rate of 235.9 in the death overs. With three fifties at a 152 strike rate, Sanju Samson has been the anchor of the Royals middle order, while KL Rahul, the IPL’s run engine, has helped the Super Giants win a few games with his bat. And there is Ishan Kishan as well, whose 2024 scoring percentage is the highest for the left-hander in a season.
By selecting Pant to be the team’s designated wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup XI, the selectors will be taking a significant risk, but if reports are to be believed, that risk has already been assumed.