This is why Rishabh Pant the white-ball batsman fares poorly as compared to the Test version.
Rishabh Pant’s all-format status may have been hampered last week when he wasn’t named in India’s T20I squad for the five-match series against England.
Initially believed to have rested after a gruelling 10-test marathon over four months, Pant’s inclusion in a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi has indicated otherwise.
Within 43 Test appearances, Pant’s legacy as India’s most prolific wicketkeeper-bat has already entered an indisputable territory. The mighty biffs, the reverse ramps, the sweeps: conventional, reverse and the one-hander, heaves and whatnot! Coupled with an immensely sturdy vertical bat protecting his pads and wicket, Pant’s unusual shot-making range has stamped an X-factor status in the longest format. In this timeline, his white-ball self has curiously driven to a strange crossroads. Uncertain if Pant will remain the first-choice wicket-keeper for the ODIs and the Champions Trophy with KL Rahul in contention, he’s still finding his feet, his 50-over record middling at best after 31 matches – 871 runs at 33.5. Even with a long lay-off from regular 50-over cricket, Pant has been selected as the second keeper in the Champions Trophy squad announced on Saturday. The likes of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have been edged out. His catch-maps in ODIs and T20Is reflect his struggles. Of his 18 caught dismissals in ODIs, 11 have been found outside the 30-yard circle; seven on the on-side between deep square leg and long-on. Excluding sixes, Pant has played 34 aerial shots crossing the inner ring, and unlike Tests, he has never been dropped in ODIs past the circle!
He has been dismissed only twice in the deep in front of the wicket, while he has been caught 18 times while dealing with a higher rate of uppish strokes in T20Is-exposing the chinks when he activates ‘slog mode’.
With left-handed batters and wicket-keeping options fronting up more abundantly for India, the 27-year-old’s white-ball quiver demands an immediate reset.