Fans anticipated that Rishabh Pant will finally make it into India’s starting XI against Bangladesh after watching Dinesh Karthik suffer a back injury during the game against South Africa. However, Pant was forced to warm the bench for the fourth game in a row of the T20 World Cup 2022 as Karthik’s position as wicket-keeper was maintained by the team management. Deepak Hooda was replaced by Axar Patel in the playing XI at the time of the toss, according to India captain Rohit Sharma.
Even though Pant is regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers in the world, he hasn’t seized control of the position behind the stumps in limited-overs cricket. Karthik, a skilled “finisher,” is preferred by the Indian side over Pant, a versatile middle-order player. Despite not contributing much with the bat thus far in the tournament, Karthik is still trusted by the team management.
Pant is eligible to participate for the Indian team in addition to Karthik. Others believe that Pant ought to start at the top of the batting order in place of KL Rahul. Here is how Twitter users responded to Pant’s rejection:
pic.twitter.com/CAU9HO8aHZ
— ax (@aldrin_ax) November 2, 2022
Today I personally believe
Boycott_india_Team
For not selecting Rishabh pant.
— Deepak Kumar (@Deepak958284) November 2, 2022
RishabhPant should have been played instead of #DineshKarthik.
Let’s see! https://t.co/lZZHWrvUPG
— Postsoff (@postsoff) November 2, 2022
India need to replace KL Rahul with Rishabh Pant before it’s too late for World Cup #INDvsBAN #T20worldcup22 #BleedBlue
— Flabbergasted (@RWFlabbergasted) November 2, 2022
Seriously hating Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma for not choosing Rishab pant for playing 11.
Feel sad for him.
And more power to you young man @RishabhPant17 #Rishabpant #RishabhPant #Rishab pic.twitter.com/9iix7LWzK7
— @ (@RegardsPKFan) November 2, 2022
At the time of the toss, India captain Rohit said: “We would have batted first. Runs on the board would matter. We would look to bat well. All games are important in this format. We didn’t play well in the last game. Hopefully, we can play some good cricket and get those two points. Good ground and good atmosphere here. Good weather as well. We have one change. Axar is in for Hooda.” Rahul and Karthik haven’t gotten off to a fast start for India in the T20 World Cup. One of them could not be able to play in the rest of the tournament if they lose to Bangladesh again.