No Rishabh Pant in T20 World Cup? Wasim Jaffer says leaving out wicket-keeper will be best thing for India

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has made a bold suggestion urging the Indian team management to leave Rishabh Pant out of the playing XI in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. Jaffer believes Pant has not managed to impress in T20Is for India and doesn't fit in the middle order.

Pant and Dinesh Karthik are the two wicket-keepers in India's 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia next month. While it remains to be seen who will be the first choice behind the stumps, Jaffer believes Karthik should play ahead of Pant as the left-hander has not been up to the mark in the shortest format of the game.

India will lock horns with Australia in a three-match T20I series starting from Tuesday where they will have to make the tough choice of picking one between Pant and Karthik. Jaffer wants the Indian team management to go with Karthik as the keeper and give all-rounder Axar Patel a chance in the middle-order in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.

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"I think Axar Patel has done really well in recent times, so I don't know why India has not trusted him, because he has won matches with his batting," Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo.

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Explainingwhy Pant should not be India's playing XI in the World Cup, Jaffer said the left-hander might have played some game-changing knocks in Test cricket but is still to prove his worth in the shortest format for the Indian team. Jaffer believes Pant can be utilised as an opener but he doesn't suit well in the middle order.

"India need to figure out whether Rishabh Pant plays or not. The Indian think tank has been thinking a lot about putting Rishabh Pant in. He has been brilliant and we have talked about it many times. In Test cricket and in the ODIs, he has played series-winning, game-changing knocks, but that has not happened in T20 internationals or even in T20s," Jaffer said.

"So India need to figure out if they want to stick with Rishabh Pant in the top six or if they want to play Dinesh Karthik, who has done really well since the Indian Premier League. For me personally, Rishabh Pant does not fit in number 4 or 5. His best place is to open the batting, which I don't think will happen. I feel leaving out Rishabh Pant in the World Cup will be the best thing," he added.

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Pant has so far played 58 T20Is for the Indian team and has managed to score 934 runs at an average of 23.94 and a strike rate of just over 126. He is yet to fire consistently with the willow in the shortest format and is yet to play the kind of innings he is known for.