Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has thrown his weight behind the idea of Rishabh Pant opening in T20 cricket. On Saturday, in the second T20I of the series against England at Edgbaston, surprising everyone Pant came out to open alongside skipper Rohit Sharma.
In his first 48 T20I matches for India, Rishabh Pant batted from number 3 to number 6. Then, the left-hander was promoted to open for the first time in his T20I career, and got the fans really excited.
An ultra-aggressive batsman, Pant’s promotion to the top came because of a jam in the middle-order. India made four changes to the eleven that had thrashed the hosts by 50 runs in Southampton as the big guns returned to the side after the Test match. Virat Kohli, Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah came in the eleven, replacing Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Arshdeep Singh.
Rishabh Pant opened for the first time in T20I
Since Kohli has been the incumbent of the number 3 position, Hooda had to make way for the former captain. This meant that Pant replaced Kishan at the top of the order as an opener.
However, this was not the first time Pant was opening. Before today, the southpaw had opened 16 times in domestic T20 cricket, wherein he averaged 38 at a strike rate of 165, according to Cricviz.
Pant made impact at the start, scoring 26 runs off 15 balls (strike rate 173); in his knock, he smashed 4 fours and a six, giving India a rapid start as the visitors rumbled to 61/1 at the end of the powerplay. He even took on his negative match-up, off-spinner Moeen Ali dispatching him for a six first ball.
This move to have Pant, one of the finest hitters of the cricket ball, at the top was welcomed by all. However, it will be interesting to see if India persist with this opening combo of Rohit and Pant when KL Rahul is fit and returns, or whether Pant slots back in the middle-order.
Either way, Irfan Pathan liked this tactic very much to have the 24-year-old as an opener.
“Talked abt Rishabh Pant opening the inning in t20s during INDvsSA series. Good to see that’s happening. Regardless of result it’s a good ploy,” Pathan tweeted.
Talked abt Rishabh Pant opening the inning in t20s during INDvsSA series. Good to see that’s happening. Regardless of result it’s a good ploy.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 9, 2022
