Can Rishabh Pant finally crack the T20I code?

Enough has been written about Rishabh Pant’s recovery from an unfortunate car accident, so in these next few paragraphs, let’s just try to stick to the on-field aspect of his life. The wicketkeeper-batter played the entire 2024 Indian Premier League and has been picked in the Indian squad for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.

When Pant was declared fit before the IPL, the left-hander was almost certain to make the T20WC squad. The other wicketkeeper-batters didn’t really cash in his absence, and with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli at the top, India needed their wicketkeeper to bat in the middle order. Hence, India going with Pant and Sanju Samson as their two glovesmen for the T20 showpiece event makes absolute sense. 

Now, what has Pant done since his comeback? The 26-year-old, who missed one game after being suspended for slow over-rate, scored 446 runs across 13 innings at an average of 40.55 and a strike rate of 155.4. He ended the competition with three 50-plus scores, hitting 36 fours and 25 maximums. In terms of his fitness and wicketkeeping, Pant was spot on. 

The left-handed batter started the season scratchy, scoring 18 off 13 against Punjab Kings and 28 off 26 against Rajasthan Royals. After being out of action for almost 15 months, it was expected that Pant would take time to settle in. But when his knock cost Delhi Capitals the game against Rajasthan in Jaipur, Pant understood something had to give.

Chasing a target of 186, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh combined 72 runs off 46 deliveries. The required rate was well under control but Pant struggled to get going in the middle overs and operated at a strike rate of just 107.69. The Capitals eventually fell short by 12 runs and that flipped the switch for Pant. 

In the next two matches against Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, Pant smoked 51 off 32 and 55 off 25, respectively and announced to the world that he is well and truly back. Then there was 41 of 24 against Lucknow Super Giants, 88* off 43 against Gujarat Titans and 29 off 19 against Mumbai Indians - Pant kept scoring runs, and that convinced the selectors that he was ready for the World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.

As mentioned earlier, if the Men in Blue decide to stick with the top-three combination of Rohit, Jaiswal and Kohli, and with Suryakumar Yadav at No.4, India will have no other choice but to play Pant at No. 5. That means Sanju Samson will have to sit out. 

Even if he is picked above Pant, Samson would be batting out of position and will serve as another right-hander in the middle. The aforementioned top-four would also mean that Shivam Dube will have to miss out, making Pant the only left-hander in the middle-order, with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja/Axar Patel to follow.

"I would probably go for Rishabh. Obviously, Sanju is also in great form, but Rishabh (is a) left-hander, and I believe that Rishabh has massive potential to win games for India, which he has done in the past. Lot more in Test cricket, and he's someone who I feel can be a match-winner on the big stage," Yuvraj Singh said while speaking to ICC.

So, let’s look at a couple of things that India will gain from having Pant in the line-up. In the league stage of IPL 2024, the left-hander scored the fourth-most runs in the middle overs (7-15). Pant got 287 runs in that phase @ 57.4 and a strike rate of 137.3. That strike rate went up to 225.42 in the death overs, the second-best among batters with at least 100 runs in that phase. 

There’s a high possibility that India will have Pandya and Jadeja as their finishers at Nos. 6 and 7 and both struggled to get those big hits away in the IPL. That’s where Pant can come in handy if he manages to get through the middle phase. Pant was also one of the best batters against pace (293 runs @ 48.83 and an SR of 184.3) in IPL 2024.  

He was one of the four batters to have an average of more than 48 and a strike rate of more than 180 against fast bowlers in the league stage. Pant, in many ways, showed why he deserves to go to the T20 World Cup, but there are still some grey areas in his batting. And it could come back to haunt Pant and India in the West Indies and the USA.

No one knows how the surfaces in the USA will behave but the pitches in the West Indies often tend to be on the slower side. While Pant was at his brutal best against pace in IPL 2024, the left-hander failed to maintain a good strike rate against spinners. If we look at batters with at least 100 runs against spin, Pant (119.5) had the worst strike rate. 

The batter got out to legspinners five times and had a strike rate of just 100 against offspinners. What’s more, like they have done so many times in the past, the bowlers also managed to keep Pant quiet and got him out by bowling those wide deliveries. Pant’s weaknesses are well known and every opponent will try to exploit that in the World Cup.

There’s one more thing: Pant has terrible numbers in T20Is. The left-hander has played eight seasons of IPL and averaged more than 30 in six of them. In terms of numbers, 2016 was his worst season - 198 runs in 10 innings @ 24.75, still better than his T20I average. That’s right, 987 runs in 66 T20Is @ 22.43 and an SR of 126.37. This is one format he hasn’t been able to ace at the international level.

But what is done is done. There’s no point looking back. This is Pant’s chance to step up and become India’s biggest trump card in the T20 World Cup.

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