Dinesh Karthik Defends Rishabh Pant, Calls Criticism “Unjust”

Mumbai: Fellow wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has come out in defence of Rishabh Pant, saying that people should give him the chance to go out and perform.

Due to his recent form issues, Pant has come under intense scrutiny. After a lackluster tour of New Zealand, the 25-year-old was dropped from the lineup for the current series against Bangladesh.

Karthik encouraged critics not to compare Pant’s performance in ODIs to his statistics in T20Is while speaking to a sports portal. Karthik said that the criticism is unjust by pointing to the wicketkeeper’s performance in the 50-over format.

Karthik asserted that he must be examined it independently. He has averaged more than 45 in the last 10 one-day cricket innings. He scored 120 (125 not out) to win the game in the just-completed England series. Thus, he has achieved great success for himself.

Karthik continued by stating that Pant should be given the chance to go out and perform. He claimed that simply because Pant isn’t performing well in one format, it would be unfair to move on from him.

“I think because of the amount of cricket, especially T20 that is played, obviously, they are comparing that and adding those scores and saying, ‘Oh, he hasn’t done well’. That’s not how we need to look at things,” Karthik concluded.