Rishabh Pant's fitness not up to the mark, Rohit Sharma too isn't very fit, says former Pakistan spinner

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has once again raised questions over Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant's fitness amid criticism over his inconsistent performances with the bat. Pant led the Indian team in the recently-concluded T20I series against South Africa at home in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain KL Rahul. However, he failed to impress with his performance and was widely targeted by critics.

Kaneria, who has previously slammed Pant over his fitness, has once again questioned him and said he is lagging behind when compared to his other teammates. The Indian team had adopted a new strict fitness regime when Virat Kohli had taken over as captain, however, Kaneria believes Pant's fitness is mediocre at present.

"Rishabh Pant's fitness is not up to the mark and is very low. I would say it's rather mediocre. There was a massive change in terms of the team's fitness standards when Kohli took over the captaincy. But Pant is lagging behind when compared to others," the former Pakistan spinner said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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Kaneria even went on to raise concerns over the fitness of Rohit Sharma and said India's current captain doesn't look too fit either. However, the former Pakistan spinner insisted fitness won't come in Rohit's way, who is a pure batter but asserted that Pant needs to manage his weight issues as it will affect his flexibility and will also limit his batting abilities.

"Although Rohit Sharma too isn't very fit, he is a batter, and it is fine for him. But Pant has to improve his fitness as he is a wicketkeeper. Even at this young age, we've seen how he hasn't been able to catch properly while keeping in recent games. This is due to his weight issues. It has an effect on his flexibility too. He plays with an approach of hitting the bowlers right from the onset. Mental toughness and maturity will also only come with fitness," Kaneria said.

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After veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik's comeback to the Indian side, Kaneria believes Pant will have to fight for his spot in India's T20I team. Comparing in-form Karthik and Pant's fitness levels, Kaneria said the 37-year-old is super fit even at his age.

"When you see Dinesh Karthik, he is super fit even at this age. We've seen that in his batting as well as wicketkeeping. Pant may have scored 70-odd in the warmup game, but he hasn't been consistent and his graph is going down. He will have to fight for his place in the team as there are other options like Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson," he said.