The mystery around Rishabh Pant and his World Cup chances

Should Pant bat to cement his place for the T20 World Cup next year or try to sneak in last-minute into 2019 squad. As what? Keeper, opener, middle-order bat or finisher?

There is a sense of anticipation in watching Rishabh Pant bat. At the nets, he's constantly innovating—like a new 'reverse paddle' against the seamers which he will showcase in this three-match T20I series. And come game time, he's supposed to match what he defied in the Australia Test series—expectations.

However, there's more to watching this prodigal 21-year old in action. He is expected to seal his place in the World Cup squad with a grand showing against New Zealand. World Cup yes, but are we talking about 2019 World Cup or 2020 T20 World Cup?

Fortunately or unfortunately, Pant is amongst the selected few, who is playing in both extreme formats of the game but isn't good enough to find the middle path. Like every game of cricket, there are some very interesting sub-plots to look forward in a detailed process of unravelling the mystery of Pant—just for the sake of 2019 World Cup. 

* Where will Pant bat?

* Will he field or keep wickets?

* Should Dinesh Karthik play the sacrificial lamb because he also is a wicketkeeper?

* Should T20 format be used to find answers for one-day cricket?

And last but not the least...

* Is there any vacancy in the World Cup squad after all? 

The chatter on Pant has been plenty; especially from former greats who feel he can be a game changer with the bat. However, when Pant walks in to bat, he will have to decide on several things—is he at peace with himself on his standing in Tests and T20 or is he too keen and eager to become one of the few three-format players in Team India? Is he eyeing the No.4 slot, or reserve opener, or as everyone wishes, the most exciting finisher in the post-Dhoni era?

Welcome to the T20 format. What would you call this shot from @RishabPant777 🤔😱 #TeamIndia #NZvIND pic.twitter.com/R5QTJNFtQI

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 5, 2019

To be honest, there is no vacancy left in the World Cup 2019 squad, with Ravindra Jadeja's third-spinner slot also going over to the fourth specialist seamer. Ideally, it will be criminal to find one-day specialists in a T20 format, and if Pant indeed is seen as a World Cup 2019 probable, he should be tested viz-a-viz Dinesh Karthik in the 5-match home series against Australia. Not in the T20 series in New Zealand. Karthik, to be fair, has done himself well to finish games when Dhoni was still rediscovering his lost touch, and curate innings when top-order has failed on rare occasions.

Karthik, or even Rayadu, can farm the strike and whip it up too but Pant is too inexperienced to double up as the situation demands. And to be brutally honest, Pant can't field. He has to keep wickets for him to be relevant in the ODI set-up. And once again, there's a dead end with Dhoni. Karthik is the reserve middle-order bat, and not just a reserve keeper, who hasn't fumbled much on his recent chances and dive around to be an asset on the field.

PANT FAILS 'FIELD TEST'

While Pant can be the reserve opener or the reserve middle-order finisher, his biggest drawback is his inability to field. Pant can only play straight into the XI as wicketkeeper. He can't fill in as a substitute in the field, and to take someone to a world Cup purely as a back-up isn't the most sensible option.

For a BCCI set-up that prides in having started the 2019 World Cup preparations right after the 2017 Champions Trophy final defeat, it makes more sense to kick-start preparations for T20 World Cup in Australia now. And then, also logically, it is way too late to catch the flight to England in May.     

In a year's time, there will be no MS Dhoni, and assuming that there's still some fuel left in the remarkable career of Karthik, Pant will be the first-choice keeper in that format. Pant should always be the first choice in the XI, and that's when there's clarity. And that's why Pant should be batting with the T20 World Cup in mind, not 2019.