3 reasons why Rishabh Pant should not bat in middle-order in T20Is

Rishabh Pant's place in India's T20I side has become a topic of great debate with less than three months to go for the T20 World Cup Down Under. While there are no doubts about his match-winning ability, many have questioned his average stats in T20Is.

In 52 matches, Pant has scored 806 runs at a modest average of 22.38 and a strike rate of 125.54, which is pretty low by his own standards. While he has absolutely nailed down his place in the longer formats for Team India, questions about his T20I spot keep on increasing with every low score.

In the ongoing T20I series against West Indies, the Indian team management took a decision that raised quite a few eyebrows. They sent Suryakumar Yadav to bat at the top of the order and vacated the No. 4 position for Rishabh Pant.

This move has clearly not worked so far as Pant has continued to look ordinary in the middle order. On that note, here are three reasons why this is probably not his best batting position in T20Is:

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#3 Spread-out field makes it tough to find early boundaries

Rishabh Pant is the sort of attacking player who grows in confidence exponentially with each boundary that he hits. So whenever he walks out to bat in the middle-order in T20Is, most of the time it is between overs 7-15 when the field is well spread out.

If the wicket is gripping for the bowlers or if there is variable bounce, it is difficult for any batter to come in and tee off straightaway. But in the T20 format, one also cannot afford to take too many deliveries to get settled at the crease.

Due to all these factors, Pant sometimes tries to play one shot too many and perishes, despite looking good at the crease for his brief stay.

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#2 Wide-line tactics can be exploited better in middle overs

Rishabh Pant's weakness against deliveries wide outside the off-stump was exposed in the IPL 2022 season. The 24-year-old looked to slog across the line, especially to spinners, instead of reaching to the pitch of it and trying to hit over the covers.

This has really dented his confidence, especially against left-arm spin, which is a match-up that should have been in his favor given that he is a southpaw. In the T20I series against South Africa earlier this year, the stand-in Indian captain scored just 58 runs in five innings.

Rishabh Pant also faced trouble against left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who got him out twice in two innings, conceding just six runs. This match-up could have been favorable for Pant had there been more fielders in the inner ring, which takes us to our next point.

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#1 Opening suits Rishabh Pant's natural game

When Rishabh Pant walked out to bat with Rohit Sharma against England, it looked like a masterstroke. Although the southpaw had scored just 27 runs from two innings at the top of the order, he looked at home in that position.

Pant had opened for India in the 2016 U19 World Cup and it seemed to make sense to give him another go at the top.

His explosive batting style would definitely help him get the most out of the powerplay restrictions and give India the flying start that they need in big games.

The Men in Blue seem committed to making Rishabh Pant bat in the middle order, probably because they feel once KL Rahul is fit, he will walk into the playing XI. However, if they want to get the best out of the 24-year-old, opening is probably the way to go in the shortest format.