Former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has heavily criticized wicketkeeper batter, Rishabh Pant, for missing out on the golden opportunities he is getting on the international stage. He further claimed that the batter needs to pull up socks before ‘it gets too late.’
Notably, Rishabh Pant has received a lot of criticism from the cricket fraternity for continuously failing to score big in white-ball cricket, as he added yet another poor performance in the first ODI against New Zealand.
As Kane Williamson-led side registered a comprehensive win against the visitors, Pant failed to make a noteworthy contribution as he could only add 15 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan (72), Shubhman Gill (50) and Shreyas Iyer (80) guided India to a competitive score of 306.
While sharing his views on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth urged India’s think tank to give Pant a break from international cricket. “Maybe you can give him a break and tell him, ‘Just wait a bit; come and play in India.’ ‘They have not handled him well. Are you going to wait for a couple more matches before giving him a break, or remove him after one or two games? He has failed to utilize his chances well. I am very disappointed.” Srikkanth said.
The 1983 World Cup winner further asserted that Pant needs to reinvent himself before it is too late. “You are messing up this chance. If you smash into such matches, it will be good, right? The World Cup is coming up. Many people are already saying that Pant is not scoring, so it will add fuel to the fire. He is going to put pressure on himself. It is high time he reinvents himself; he has to do something right – stand and play for a while and then go for it. He is throwing his wickets away all the time,” Srikkanth added.