Raina said- Pant can be the ‘X factor’ for India along with Hardik
Former batsman Suresh Raina feels Rishabh Pant could be the ‘X factor’ for India along with Hardik Pandya in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to an injury while Pant, who has a stellar record in Australia, can perform like Yuvraj and Raina once teamed up with former captain MS Dhoni. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won the inaugural World T20 in 2007, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy (the last ICC tournament that the team won).
Raina told PTI on Friday, “I would say that the presence of the left-handed batsman in the middle order will be very important. “From number one to six, we don’t have a left-handed batsman and I am sure the opponent will have two-three left-arm bowlers,” he said. We have seen this in the past (2007, 2011 and 2013) in which Gauti (Gautam Gambhir), Yuvi Pa (Yuvraj Singh) and I played the role. ,
When asked whether India should prefer Pant over Dinesh Karthik as a wicket-keeper batsman, Raina said, “You have to bring ‘X Factor’ with Hardik and who can be ‘X Factor’. I think Rishabh Pant can do better being a left-handed batsman. He said, “When Yuvi Pa and I used to play, we used to intimidate our rivals. Now Rahul, Rohit will have to decide who they choose. I am sure they will be looking into it, but whatever we play, we have to win. ,
Karthik is the ‘finisher’ of the team but it is unlikely that India will field both the wicket-keeper batsmen in the playing XI. Raina, the first Indian to score a century in all three formats of the game, said, “DK (Karthik) has a chance, he has been given a role. But I am not saying that they should prefer Pant over Karthik. Whoever gets the chance, he has to take the responsibility and win the match.
