"I'm surprised he is keeping" - Tom Moody on Rishabh Pant's role in IPL 2024

Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody has stated that he didn't expect Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant to keep wickets in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).

Pant made his cricketing return in IPL 2024 following a lengthy injury layoff after being involved in a horrific car crash in December 2022. The gifted youngster was cleared to play as a keeper-batter by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) ahead of the ongoing edition.

Moody recently stated that he expected Pant to play as a pure batter, at least for the first half of the season. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he said:

"I'm surprised he is keeping. If you'd asked me a month ago, I'd have thought he'd certainly start the first half of the IPL as a batter and the impact sub."

Rishabh Pant is yet to find his mojo back and has looked like a pale version of his former self in his first two appearances this season. He registered scores of 18 (13) and 28 (26) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), respectively.

During the discussion, former India opener Wasim Jaffer pointed out how Pant has looked rusty with the bat in IPL 2024. Assessing the southpaw's performances, he said:

"Not as fluent. I thought they bowled good lines to him, away from his body. He's not known to hit a lot on the off side. That's not his strength. He likes to go cow corner to mid-wicket. I thought they planned really well and executed those. He still looks a little bit rusty at the moment."

The Rishabh Pant-led side have kicked-off IPL 2024 with back-to-back losses and are currently eighth in the points table.

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"He's gone to a side that needs his skillset" - Tom Moody on Avesh Khan joining RR ahead of IPL 2024

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) traded Indian fast bowler Avesh Khan to Rajasthan in exchange for left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal.

Tom Moody opined that Avesh has benefited from changing teams, as he now has the designated role of a death bowler with Rajasthan. The cricketer-turned-commentator added:

"Avesh Khan is definitely the beneficiary (of the trade) because the trust was lost with him at LSG, and he's gone to a side that needs his skillset. So, he is high on their agenda with regards to, 'We need you as our death bowler, and you're going to be one of our first picks, and that's your role'."

Moody reckoned that with Avesh proving his mettle as a death bowler in the first two matches of IPL 2024, he has a chance of getting into the national selectors' scheme of things for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The 58-year-old remarked:

"He's knocking on a World Cup door. He's ticking a critical box, and that is someone that can specialize at the end, and there's not many bowlers who can do that. Bumrah is top of the pack, but he needs support."

Asked to defend 17 runs off the final over against Delhi on Thursday, Avesh nailed his yorkers perfectly and conceded just four runs, guiding his team to a 12-run win. He also bowled the last over against Lucknow, giving away just six runs.