Chopra Advocates for Pant’s T20I Recognition

Aakash Chopra, a former Indian cricketer, voiced his astonishment on Monday regarding Rishabh Pant’s exclusion from India’s T20I squad. He has urged selectors to consider the wicketkeeper-batter.

In a discussion on his YouTube channel, Chopra emphasized Pant’s impressive statistics in the T20 format.

“When Rishabh Pant takes the field between positions one and three, his scoring rate is around 156, accompanied by a reasonable average of 34. However, we won’t delve into the top three,” he commented.

Chopra also noted that Pant was India’s third-highest scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup, a point he believes has been largely ignored.

“Looking at numbers four through seven, his strike rate stands at 140, with an average of 30. This is still acceptable,” Chopra mentioned.

He further added, “One aspect significantly favors him, and I’m quite puzzled why it’s not being discussed: he was India’s third-highest run-getter in the T20 World Cup that we clinched.”

Chopra contended that when evaluating India’s most impactful T20I batsmen, Pant’s contributions merit greater attention.

Chopra reiterated that Pant hasn’t received due credit for his performances in T20 internationals.

“It feels like he’s been unfairly dismissed. No one seems to be acknowledging his contributions. Perhaps the IPL performance wasn’t up to par, but the complete absence from discussions is peculiar,” he stated.

Notably, Pant has represented India in 47 Tests, 31 ODIs, and 76 T20Is. However, the wicketkeeper-batter has been absent from T20I matches since India’s T20 World Cup victory in 2024.