'Itne bade batsman ko ap toss ki tarah..': Madan Lal slams Rohit and Dravid for not playing Rishabh Pant

As India suffered their first loss in the T20 World Cup 2022 against South Africa, many players, particularly the batters, were held responsible for the poor performance, particularly Dinesh Karthik, who scored only 6 runs off 15 balls. In fact, Karthik had a lower back injury in the second innings, forcing him to leave the field, meaning Rishabh Pant donned the gloves for the final five overs. 

However, legendary Indian bowler and 1983 World Cup champion Madan Lal believes that Rishabh Pant deserves to be in the Indian batting order regardless of Dinesh Karthik's availability. He also criticised the Indian team management for their handling of the wicketkeeper batsman.

“Availability chaahe DK ki ho ya naa ho, main nehi maanta, mera khayal hai ki Rishabh Pant ko khilana chaiye. Aur agar usko apko khilana hai toh usse aap hausla dijiye. Itna bara batsman hai aur aap toss ke tarah upr niche kar rahe hai. Woh to khiladi hai, uska toh atmavishwas jayega hi. Sabko pata hai ki woh kitna bara match winner hai. Pant ko khilana hi parega chaahe DK available ho ya na ho (Rishabh Pant has to play irrespective of whether DK plays or not. You have to give him encouragement if you want him to play. He is such a big batsman and you are just tossing him up and down like a coin. He is bound to lose his confidence. We all know he is a match-winner. So, Pant has to play, whether DK is there or not),” he said in an interaction with India Today.

India will play against Bangladesh on Wednesday, a match that will decide their fate for the semis.

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