Rishabh Pant dropped: Suddenly, the future isn’t what it used to be

True that a break is advisable after a strenuous four-Test series, where he had to stretch his sinews more than he would have in the subcontinent and wherein he put in a decent shift, but at such an early stage of his career he wouldn’t be fussing over weariness or fatigue. He’s just 21, an impressionable youngster wanting to prove himself across formats, and just a handful of matches into his international career. The least of his concerns would be a stiff back or aching knees, and it’s not like he had shown any visible signs of discomfort or fatigue, rather basking in the pantomine villainy attached to him by the Australian crowd and cricket experts. His alacrity and chatter have endeared him to them.

The strange part is that he might not be resting after all, rather chirping away behind the stumps against the touring English Lions at home, a series that begins at the end of January, around the same time the ODIs in New Zealand begin. What’s stranger is that it was just around the time speculation was rife that he might be woven into the team to shore up India’s flailing lower-middle order. With his nonchalant explosiveness, there was a school of thought that he can be experimented at No. 6, a finisher-designate, especially as Dhoni has been plodding for a while and is no longer the finisher-exemplar of the past. And with Pant being his supposed heir, why not let him apprentice under the former India skipper, if not as a keeper, at least as a batsman?

In fact, Pant played all his three ODIs as a specialist batsman, and though he hasn’t quite reprised his IPL and domestic pyrotechnics, two innings is too small a sample size to gauge someone’s potential. In both innings, he was quick off the blocks, belting runs at a strike rate of around 130, before getting out playing one stroke too many. In Vizag, the circumstances warranted such an approach, with India looking to stretch their total. He came in the 41st over, and had no other alternative but to push the run rate. Maybe in Pune, he could have tempered his game and hung around. But these are still early days to cast hasty judgments on him. And it’s not like India has stumbled on a preciously-talented down-the-order batsman, it’s the same players that are flitted in and out the revolving door.

The recalling of Dinesh Karthik muddies the scenario further. For he was dropped after an indifferent Asia Cup, where batting mostly at 4, once each at 3 and 5, he managed 146 in six matches but a strike rate of 71.2. In general, barring the odd 50 or two, he hasn’t racked up anything significant to force a comeback. Prasad had then explained the rationale: “In the search of a second wicketkeeper, we have given opportunities to DK. Right now, we’re giving an opportunity to Rishabh Pant. And we can take a call at the appropriate time about who is the best among the two.” Then, Karthik hasn’t inspired much to warrant a comeback. His Ranji numbers — 105 runs in four innings — and T20I outings in Australia (52 runs in two) are more modest than staggering.

Maybe, the selectors want to experiment a bit more in the tune-up to the World Cup, and maybe give Karthik another shot at redemption. Or maybe, they’ve already figured him out as Dhoni’s deputy for the World Cup, maybe after weaving in his experience. Prasad hinted as much: “We have zeroed in on 20 members and only those 20 members will be figuring from now on.” Hence, it’s unlikely that they would make too many changes before the World Cup. So the blueprint of the hierarchy is more or less drawn, and Pant, whose long-format abilities were once questioned, has to be content for now with the whites. And the Lions.