'His best performances have...' - Ex-India batter suggests batting spot for Rishabh Pant ahead of NZ T20Is

After the disappointments of the T20 World Cup 2022 edition, Team India is now gearing up for their upcoming three-match T20I series versus hosts New Zealand. With many regulars not being part of the tour, Hardik Pandya will lead the side with Rishabh Pant as his deputy.

With a semi-final defeat in the recently-concluded T20 WC, in Australia, India will now look to revamp and restart with the next edition of the World Cup to be held in 2024. The NZ series can give a sneak peak into the mindset of the team. With regular skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and others not part of the tour, the young battersare expected to take more responsibility and get more chances at the top order. Amid all this, former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has suggested a new batting slot for Pant.

"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," he toldSportskeeda. "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," he further opined.

Pant featured in only two games for India in the T20 WC 2022 edition. So far, the swashbuckling left-hander hasn't done anything extra ordinary in the shortest format and will hope to get going from the opening match itself versus the Kiwis. He has played 64 T20Is and has managed 970 runs at a strike rate of127.12.

The first T20I kicks off on November 18 atSky Stadium, Wellington.

Squad for NZ T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & wk), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.

Squad for NZ ODIs:Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.