'I didn't understand it': Mohammad Kaif slams Team India for not backing Rishabh Pant as opener in T20Is
Rishabh Pant didn't open for India in 1st T20I against West Indies on Friday.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has slammed the Indian team management for not backing Rishabh Pant as an opener in T20Is. Like many, Kaif was left surprised when Suryakumar Yadav walked in to open the batting with captain Rohit Sharma in the 1t T20I of the ongoing five-match series against West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Friday (July 29).
Despite having Ishan Kishan in the squad, India have been experimenting continuously in T20Is as far as the opening slots are considered. While Rohit's position as an opener remains unchallenged, a number of other batters have been tried in the second opening slot, including Pant.
Pant had opened for India in the T20I series against England earlier this month and had impressed with his swashbuckling batting display. Kaif believes India should have persisted with the left-hand wicket-keeper batter at the top and played Suryakumar, who is a middle-order batter in his actual position.
Kaif said he couldn't quite understand India's strategy behind opening the batting with Suryakumar while criticising the team management for not giving Pant enough opportunities on top of the order. He also pointed out how Suryakumar will be the best fit for India at 4 and it makes no sense to open the batting with him.
Also Read:India vs West Indies, 1st T20I; Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik set up a convincing 68-runs victory
"Whatever that was, I did not understand it at all. If you were trying Rishabh Pant as the opener for 2-3 matches, then you should have gone with him today as well. Give him at least five chances. And this strategy of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid, they back the players at least 5-6 matches,” Kaif said on FanCode.
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“But this did not happen with Pant. And Suryakumar has the role of controlling the innings in the middle and adding those finishing touches. In fact, his role will remain as the No. 4 batter when Kohli and Rahul return. But Pant should have been tried. Clearly, I did not understand what happened. Ishan Kishan is also waiting," he added.
Talking about the first T20I, India got off to a winning start in the five-match series with a comprehensive victory by 68 runs in the series-opener at the Brian Lara Stadium. Captain Rohit led from the front with the bat with a brilliant knock of 64 runs while finisher Dinesh Karthik impressed again with an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls to help India post a strong 190 runs on the board in 20 overs.
Also Read:‘Right up there with Rohit, Rahul, Dhawan’: Former NZ all-rounder all praise for India's star batter
In reply, West Indies were skittled out cheaply off just 122 runs after their batting line-up suffered a terrible collapse. Spinners R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi ran riot against the hosts' batting line-up picking up two wickets apiece while Arshdeep Singh also managed to pick two wickets while conceding only 24 runs off his 4 overs.