Aakash Chopra worried about questions on Rishabh Pant’s form – There was no need for him to give an audition

Rishabh Pant scored only 58 runs from five matches against South Africa at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 105.45 with a top score of 29.

Former batter Aakash Chopra said that there will now be questions about Rishabh Pant’s place in the team after the latter failed to live up to expectations during India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa.

Pant looked out of sorts in the white-ball series as he scored only 58 runs from five matches at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 105.45 with a top score of 29. Chopra reckoned that along with Axar Patel and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Pant flattered to deceive in the T20I series.

"The third I feel is Rishabh Pant. He was the captain in the series and when someone is the captain, you feel that he is secure. A lot of people, including myself, were of the opinion that there was no need for him to give an audition because he is one of the first names you would want to put when you prepare the squad," Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

"He is our X-factor. You get only one left-hander in the entire batting order, the rest are all right-handers. You never know whether Ishan Kishan will get a chance or not and Jaddu comes in the end, so Rishabh Pant is very very important and integral to India's scheme of things," he added.

Pant was named as the skipper for the series against the Proteas after KL Rahul was ruled out for certain reasons. India lost the first two T20Is in Delhi and Cuttack before they came back to win the third and fourth matches in Vizag and Rajkot. The fifth and final T20I at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore was called off due to rain.