Rishabh Pant played a blazing knock of 53 runs while batting at the number 3 position against Bangladesh in his recent outing. With India taking on Ireland in their opening T20 World Cup match, several fans and experts have opined on Rishabh Pant opening the innings for team India in T20 World Cup. Let us check his numbers as an opener for team India and in domestic circuit to get an idea if Rishabh Pant can actually pair with Rohit Sharma to open for team India in T20 World Cup 2024.
Rishabh Pant as opener for team India
Overall, Rishabh Pant has opened for the Men in Blue on five occasions and has scored 71 runs at a decent strike rate of 136.54. Rishabh Pant’s averages best at number 3 position with 29.95 in six innings. However, his strike rate comes down to 127.17.
| Batting Position | Inns | NO | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | 0s | HS | Runs | Avg | S/R |
| Opening | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 71 | 14.20 | 136.54 |
Rishabh Pant as opener in T20s
When it comes to T20s, Rishabh Pant has previously opened the batting for Delhi Capitals in IPL and for Delhi in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2017-18 and 2019-2020. Overall, Pant has scored 599 runs in 17 T20 innings (Excluding T20Is) as the opening batter. He has a decent average of 37.43 and plays at a good strike rate of 166.38.
Will Pant open for India in T20 World Cup?
With several contenders including Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the opening spot, Rishabh Pant is likely not to open the innings for the Men in Blue in the marquee event. However, Pant’s name is surely in contention given he is a left-handed batter who can take good advantage of the field restrictions on the sluggish tracks of West Indies and USA.
