I feel Rishabh Pant should bat in the top 3 – Robin Uthappa

Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa reckons Rishabh Pant should bat in the top three. Pant has been mostly given his opportunities in the middle order and Uthappa feels the left-hander can make a lot of difference while batting in the top order.

The southpaw has the skills to turn the match on its head but he hasn’t yet grabbed his chances in the shortest format of the game. Pant played against Zimbabwe and he was also backed in the semi-final match against England in the T20 World Cup but didn’t get to face a lot of deliveries.

In fact, earlier former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer had also said that Pant should open the innings in the T20I format.

Robin Uthappa said while talking to Sportskeeda, “The next World Cup is in two years’ time. So keeping the conditions there in mind, I feel Rishabh Pant should bat in the top 3.

“If you look at his IPL records, his best performances have come when he has opened or when he has batted at No. 3. So, you have to give him the opportunity to become a match-winner in that position.”

Pant has scored 970 runs in 64 T20I matches at an average of 23.1 and a strike rate of 127.3. However, the left-hander has produced better numbers in the IPL as he has amassed 2838 runs in 98 games at an average of 34.61 and a strike rate of147.97.

On the other hand, Uthappa reckons India must groom new finishers. Hardik Pandya has done a fine job for the team but Dinesh Karthik could not deliver in the T20 World Cup. Uthappa reckons Karthik won’t be in contention for selection in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

“I don’t think Dinesh Karthik might play again in the next world cup. So you can groom the likes of Sanju Samson, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda in the finisher’s role. Umran Malik is a bowler who should definitely play.”

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul could not deliver the goods for the team at the top of the order. Their best partnership of 27 runs came against Zimbabwe and they could not give a good start to the team in the PowerPlay overs.