Twitteratti goes berserk after BCCI calls Rishabh Pant to replace Shikhar Dhawan
Pant is expected to join the World Cup squad ahead of India's World Cup match against New Zealand.
Mumbai: Shikhar Dhawan’s injury has forced the BCCI to call World Cup ousted Rishabh Pant. Pant is expected to join the World Cup squad ahead of India’s World Cup match against New Zealand.
However, Pant’s entry to the World Cup squad made cricket experts and pundits engage themselves in a debate, asking who should replace the injured opener. Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen immediately spurted out Pant’s name, while former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir suggested that Ambati Rayudu should get the chance to replace the ‘centurion’ of the last match.
After Dhawana’s injury, the cricket legends also announced the likes of Shreyas Iyer too. Along with KP, the Indian fans took to twitter and advised the Indian selectors to include Rishab Pant.
The fans filled the social media site with loads of memes, suggesting the selectors to call up Rishabh Pant blindly. Here are some of the memes:
Rishabh Pant waiting for BCCI call#ShikharDhawan #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/4ptezaems9
— Dhavan Kadia (@dhaone110) June 11, 2019
Rishabh Pant right now.. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/e3mruSM0gP
— Loveyouall_007 (@loveyouall_007) June 11, 2019
#ShikharDhawan
— S H A H R U K H 🇮🇳 (@SaahRocks) June 11, 2019
Risabh Pant standing outside of BCCI building.
BCCI: tum yaha kya kar rahe ho..??
Risabh Pant: pic.twitter.com/jb00OzvU4L
Rishabh Pant rushing for his flight after hearing about Shikhar Dhawan 😉#CWC19 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/7ZNIvm0II7
— FlashScore.in (@FlashScore_IN) June 11, 2019
#ShikharDhawan#RishabhPant
— Jagriti Gambhir (@iamjagriti_) June 11, 2019
With Shikhar Dhawan gone, BCCI to Rishabh Pant: pic.twitter.com/v71Sif41EY
Rishab pant Right now #ShikharDhawan pic.twitter.com/Lay3XlpLmv
— Aditya Swaraj (@aditya_tweets_) June 11, 2019
Shikhar Dhawan is out for 3 weeks due to thumb injury. #ShikharDhawan
— Lord Duffer-In (@British_Viceroy) June 11, 2019
Meanwhile Rishabh Pant. pic.twitter.com/mdMBTAgKVP
Rishabh Pant Right Now After #ShikharDhawan Injury ! pic.twitter.com/RVZOJCoWgW
— Babu Bhaiya (@Shahrcasm) June 11, 2019
Ajynkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer in front of @BCCI office after #ShikharDhawan is injured and ruled out of tournament pic.twitter.com/jV40yOAZRu
— vaibhavbarange (@vaibhavbarange) June 11, 2019
Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey & Prithvi Shaw outside the BCCI Headquarters after #ShikharDhawan is ruled out from the world cup due to thumb injury.#CWC19 #WorldCup2019 @DennisCricket_ pic.twitter.com/hlhCS9qjjr
— Bilal Shahid (@BilalShahidRana) June 11, 2019
Rishabh Pant, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey & Prithvi Shaw outside the BCCI Headquarters after #ShikharDhawan is ruled out from the world cup due to thumb injury.#CWC19 #WorldCup2019 @DennisCricket_ pic.twitter.com/hlhCS9qjjr
— Bilal Shahid (@BilalShahidRana) June 11, 2019
#ShikharDhawan
— jiteshrochlani (@jiteshrochlani) June 11, 2019
Rishabh pant right now : pic.twitter.com/gwYUBximZw
Coming back to the match terms – When India play their third match against the New Zealand on Thursday, India’s main headache will be who should open the innings with Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul can be one probable option. KL has already opened the innings for Kings XI Punjab during the 2019 IPL season.
And, if Pant is included in the squad then should the team management make him bat in the middle order or be a reserve middle-order batsman as Vijay Shankar and Dinesh Karthik are more likely to get a chance ahead of Pant.
Statistics say that Pant doesn’t hold a good record in ODIs. In all the 5 ODIs that Pant played, the 21-year-old has managed to notch up only 93 runs at an average of 23.25.
This is why Pant is favoured so much in ODIs. However, the Delhi Capitals opener was in touch in the 2019 IPL season. Pant amassed 488 runs in 16 matches including three 50s.