'If he's still in dugout for last 8-9 overs...': Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid receive 'game-changer' solution for T20 WC

Move aside India's opening conundrum. A new headache has emerged in terms of team combination, and it involves Rishabh Pant. Following his explosive half-century against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup warm-up game, clamours of wanting Pant to bat at No. 3 for India have grown louder. Pant scored a brisk 53 off 32 balls before he retired out as India beat Bangladesh by 60 runs, but is it good enough to displace Suryakumar Yadav, or let's say, even Virat Kohli from the coveted No. 3?

Well, former India opener WV Raman doesn't think so. In fact, the former coach of the Indian women's cricket team reckons Pant is best suited to bat at No. 5 or 6, reserving the likes of Kohli and SKY for the top order. With there being a strong possibility of Kohli opening the innings with captain Rohit Sharma, the idea of Pant at 3 is tempting, but Raman feels the prospects of India reserving Pant to unleash as and when needed sound more rewarding.

"Not much should be read into a warm-up game, as sending him at No.3 was maybe about giving him more game time. If he explodes in the last five-six overs along with players like Hardik, (Ravindra) Jadeja or even an Axar Patel, that can really be the game-changer. Suppose in a game, India still have Rishabh at the dugout for the last eight-nine overs, it will surely keep the opposition under pressure,” Raman told The Telegraph.

Rishabh Pant's numbers at various batting positions

Pant has played most T20Is for India batting at No. 4, having scored 474 runs from that position with two half-centuries. At No. 5, he has batted 15 times, scoring 297 at a slightly better average of 27 and a best of 52 not out. Pant has opened five times and batted at 3 on just six occasions. Rest assured, if there is a position that's up for grabs, Pant is to bat for India, it has to be No. 4, followed by Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja at 5, 6, and 7.

This strengthens India's batting depth and gives them bowling options as well, with all three all-rounders rolling their arms over. And if the pitch used in the game between Sri Lanka and South Africa is anything to go by, India can strike gold with this line-up. Pant doesn't have the greatest of numbers in T20Is for India – 865 runs from 30 matches at an average of 34.6 and strike-rate reading 106.65. But Sunday's warm-up tie against Bangladesh was the best he's looked in in a long time.

And how can his IPL form not be talked about? Playing his first top-flight tournament since the near-fatal accident, Pant was the 12th-highest run-getter. In 13 matches, the Delhi Capitals captain scored 466 runs with three fifties including a highest score of unbeaten 88, and had he not gotten a one-match suspension, Pant could have breached the 500-run barrier. Statistically, this was Pant's third-best season in the IPL behind his tallies of 684 runs in 2018 and 488 in 2019.