IND vs SA: If Rishabh Pant Also Scores Runs That Will be Another Plus Point For India - Ashish Nehra

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra suggested that in the absence of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant has a chance to show his batting credentials in the second T20I. Pant hasn’t been able to get cement his place in India’s T20I XI as skipper Rohit Sharma has preferred Dinesh Karthik over him at the wicketkeeper’s spot. The southpaw did get a place in the first t20I against South Africa but India won the match by 8 wickets and he didn’t get a chance to bat.

Nehra feels that Pant scoring runs in the coming matches ahead of the T20 World Cup will be a plus point for India.

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“I would watch out for Rishabh Pant. He is bound to be in the playing XI now, he has a good chance with Hardik Pandya not being there. He has been in and out of the team as of late. Now if he also scores runs, that will be another plus point for India," Nehra said on Cricbuzz.

The southpaw has scored 311 runs in 17 T20Is this year at an average of 25.91. Due to a lack of consistency, Pant has not been able to cement his place in India’s XI.

Earlier, Team India skipper Rohit Sharma also admitted that both Pant and Karthik didn’t get enough time in the middle to showcase their talent in recent matches.

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Sharma also said that selecting the right-handed Karthik or the left-handed Pant in the playing XI or picking both of them will depend of the situation the team finds itself in.

“I just feel that Dinesh needs a little more game time, so does Pant. Honestly speaking Pant needs some game time as well. But looking at how this series was important for me to just stick to that consistent batting lineup," said Sharma during the post-match press conference after India beat Australia in the third T20I.

Meanwhile, RP Singh feels that Suryakumar Yadav will be the player to watch for him in the remaining matches of the series. Suryakumar has turned out to be a vital cog in India’s batting line-up this year after they started embracing an ultra-attacking approach. The 32-year-old is currently the highest-ranked Indian batter in the ICC T20 Rankings – 2.

“Suryakumar Yadav would be the player to watch out for from India. Quinton de Kock from South Africa," RP said in the same interaction.

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