‘How can you send Pant ahead of world No.1 batsman?’: Ex-Pakistan captain slams Shikhar Dhawan

Ex-Pakistan skipper Salman Butt was surprised by team India's decision to send Rishabh Pant ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the ODIs. Apart from the second ODI, which was reduced to 29-overs-a-side, Rishabh Pant batted ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the ODI series.

"He's (Pant) a flashy player, plays with a lot of freedom but he hasn't been able to deliver the kind of performance that was expected of him in the current (New Zealand) series. He should have scored more runs. But I didn't understand why he was batting above Suryakumar Yadav. You are playing an out-of-form batter in place of someone who is in the form of his life and is playing his best cricket. The in-form player should play more overs. He's the No.1 batter and you are sending him below an out-of-form player," said Salman Butt on his YouTube channel.

The former Pakistan skipper stated that this can have an affect on Suryakumar Yadav's form. The No.1-ranked T20I batsman, who scored a hundred in the T20I series, was dismissed for 6 and 4 in the two ODIs he batted behind Rishabh Pant.

"I don't know what's going on. This can impact an in-form player. I don't know whether this was the case here or not but a batter who is in the form of his life would want to play more deliveries," he said.

Before the start of the third ODI, Rishabh Pant had said that he prefers to bat at No.4 in ODIs. "I would choose to open in T20Is, number 4-5 in ODIs and in Test I'm batting at 5. Yes, the game plan changes when you're batting lower down the order but at the same time you have to bat where the team wants you to. There's no need to premeditate in ODIs, only in T20s you need to premeditate," he said.

Despite the below-par numbers, Pant has got the backing of the team management. "Of course, Sanju Samson has been doing really well in whatever opportunity he got. But sometimes you've got to wait for your chances, because the other player has done well and we know based on his (Pant's) skill that he's a match-winner. So you need to back him when he's not doing well," said Shikhar Dhawan.

Regardless of the poor form, Rishabh Pant has got the backing of the team management. "Of course, Sanju Samson has been doing really well in whatever opportunity he got. But sometimes you've got to wait for your chances, because the other player has done well and we know based on his (Pant's) skill that he's a match-winner. So you need to back him when he's not doing well," said Shikhar Dhawan.

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