IND vs SA LIVE: ICC T20 World Cup 2022 – Rishabh Pant’s wait to make an appearance continues as the young Wicketkeeper was dropped to the bench on Sunday. While captain Rohit Sharma did strengthen the batting by dropping Axar Patel, he opted to bring in Hooda ahead of Pant. The move did not pay dividends as Hooda departed for a 3-ball duck of Lungi Ngidi. Follow India vs SouthAfrica LIVE and T20 World Cup Live Updates on Insidesport.IN
IND vs SA LIVE: Deepak Hooda decision backfires for Rohit Sharma as ‘all-rounder’ departs for DUCK – Check out
Despite training hard and having a reputation in Australia, Rishabh Pant was relegated to the bench once again in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Having lost his place to Dinesh Karthik, Pant did not feature in the games against Pakistan and Netherlands.
However, for the game against SouthAfrica, Pant was in contention with the team management dropping Axar Patel for the game. The 25-year-old however felt short in the race, with Deepak Hooda making his World Cup debut.
IND vs SA LIVE: Why Deepak Hooda over Rishabh Pant?
- Rishabh Pant was expected to be the first choice replacement for any change in the playing XI.
- However, Rohit and Dravid have brought back Hooda for the SouthAfrica match.
- Pant meanwhile will warm the bench for the third consecutive game.
- Hooda’s bowling gives an edge considering India’s lack of all resources.
- The LSG star’s off spin could come handy against a left-dominant SouthAfrica side on Sunday.
Hooda scored valuable runs against Ireland and WestIndies, but struggled for runs in the Asia Cup. The Baroda batter has had a fantastic year, but his form has tapered off towards the end.
However, Deepak’s ability to chip in with ball in hand is what tilted the argument in his favour. Hooda can serve as the 6th bowling option, while Pant’s inclusion would have left India with an option of letting Virat Kohli bowl.
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
