Kris Srikkanth feels Rishabh Pant should take break from international cricket to reinvent game

Pant
has
looked
subdued
in
limited
overs
cricket
this
year,
scoring
just
one
fifty
in
the
shortest
format
way
back
in
February
against
the
West
Indies,
while
crossing
the
30-run
mark
only
twice
in
the
21
innings
that
he
has
played
in
2022.

In
ODIs,
the
25-year-old
has
scored
326
runs
including
an
unbeaten
hundred
and
two
fifties
at
an
average
of
40.44
and
strike
rate
of
98.19
in
9
innings.
In
2022,
he
has
also
been
dismissed
for
a
duck
twice.

Disappointed
with
his
performance
this
year,
Srikkanth
has
said
Pant
is
not
utilizing
the
chances
and
advised
the
wicketkeeper-batter
to
take
a
break
from
international
cricket.

“Maybe
you
can
give
him
(Pant)
a
break
and
tell
him
‘just
wait
a
bit,
come
and
play
in
India’,
they
haven’t
handled
him
well.
Are
you
going
to
wait
for
a
couple
of
matches
before
giving
him
a
break
or
remove
him
after
one
or
two
games?”
Srikkanth
said
on
his
YouTube
channel
Cheeky
Cheeka.

“Yes,
Rishabh
Pant
is
not
utilising
the
chances
he’s
getting.
I
am
very
disappointed
–
ennada
Pant-u
(what
is
this
Pant)?,”
he
added.

Rishabh
Pant
white-ball
performance
in
2022:
Mixed
year
for
Indian
wicketkeeper-batter
in
ODIs
and
T20Is

Pant
scored
only
17
runs
in
the
T20I
series
against
New
Zealand,
while
he
was
dismissed
for
15
in
the
first
ODI
and
did
not
bat
in
the
rain
affected
2nd
ODI
on
Sunday
(November
27).

The
former
opener
Srikkanth
also
felt
Pant
is
adding
“fuel
to
the
fire”
with
people
already
criticizing
his
inclusion
in
the
white-ball
team.

“You
are
messing
up
these
chances.
If
you
smash
into
such
matches,
it’ll
be
good
right?
The
World
Cup
is
coming
up.
Already
a
lot
of
people
are
saying
that
Pant
isn’t
scoring
so
it’ll
add
fuel
to
the
fire,”
Srikkanth,
a
former
India
opener,
said.

“He’s
going
to
put
pressure
on
himself.
He
needs
to
reinvent
himself.
He
has
to
do
something
right
–
stand
and
play
for
a
while
and
then
go
for
it…
He’s
throwing
his
wicket
away
all
the
time.”

Pant
may
be
involved
in
another
white-ball
outing
when
India
take
on
New
Zealand
in
the
third
and
final
ODI
on
Wednesday
(November
30)
at
the
Hagley
Oval
in
Christchurch.

(With
PTI
inputs)