’Rishabh Pant showed his class…’: Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Rohit Sharma’s ‘brilliant’ move during T20 World Cup 2024

Rishabh Pant has made something of a dream comeback, first showing flashes of good form during the IPL and then being included in the India squad for the World Cup. Eventually, coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma decided to give Rishabh Pant the nod over Sanju Samson in the Indian XI.

Not only did Pant earn a place in the India XI, but the team management gave him the responsibility of batting at number 3 ahead of veterans Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. Since then, there has been no looking back for the left-hander as he currently tops the scoring charts for India with 96 runs in 3 matches so far.

Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Rishabh Pant's elevation during T20 World Cup:

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has also taken note of Rishabh Pant's performance during the World Cup, especially in the difficult conditions at the Nassau Cricket Stadium in New York. Manjrekar also praised the Indian team management's decision to play Rishabh Pant up the order from the warm-up match itself. 

In an interaction with news agency PTI, Manjrekar said, “They (team management) want more and more impact players, at every position down the order and Rishabh Pant, I didn't expect him to be batting at No. 3, and what a brilliant move it has turned out to be, starting from that warm-up game against Bangladesh, when Samson and Rohit Sharma took some time to get used to the surface,”

"Pant has showed his class. He has been India's best batter in this tournament so far, and on a difficult pitch, and that is Rishabh Pant's class. That they gave him the No. 3 slot also ensured that India don't have six right-handers like they had in that 50-over World Cup and the only left-hander India had was Jadeja at No. 7," Manjrekar added