NEW DELHI: Former chairman of selection committee Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels that Rishabh Pant is "messing up" his chances and should be given a break from international cricket to reinvent his game.
Pant has scored just one fifty this year in the shortest format way back in February against the West Indies, while crossing the 30-run mark only twice in the 21 innings that he has played in 2022.
In ODIs this year, Pant has scored two fifties and a hundred in the nine innings that he has played.
"Maybe you can give him (Pant) a break and tell him 'just wait a bit, come and play in India', they haven't handled him well. Are you going to wait for a couple of matches before giving him a break or remove him after one or two games?" Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.
"Yes, Rishabh Pant is not utilising the chances he's getting. I am very disappointed - ennada Pant-u (what is this Pant)?," he added.
In the T20I series against New Zealand, Pant scored only 17 runs was was dismissed for 15 runs in the first ODI.
"You are messing up these chances. If you smash into such matches, it'll be good right? The World Cup is coming up. Already a lot of people are saying that Pant isn't scoring so it'll add fuel to the fire," Srikkanth, a former India opener, said.
"He's going to put pressure on himself. He needs to reinvent himself. He has to do something right - stand and play for a while and then go for it... He's throwing his wicket away all the time."
India face New Zealand in the third and final ODI on Wednesday in Christchurch.
(With inputs from PTI)
