The management of the Indian team made the decision to leave Rishabh Pant out of the starting lineup for Sunday’s Asia Cup 2022 opener against Pakistan. The decision to use Dinesh Karthik as the wicket-keeper for the game generated a lot of discussion among both fans and analysts. Although Pant was selected for the starting line up for the game against Hong Kong, he was not given the opportunity to bat.

Former India wicket-keeper #ParthivPatel has named a player for whom a space needs to be created in the team so that he can showcase his ability #AsiaCupT20 https://t.co/Pf41rl3rNc

— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) September 1, 2022

Many supporters have been asking for Rishabh Pant to be promoted up the order since KL Rahul cannot play freely at the top of the order.

Parthiv Patel, a former wicket-keeper for India, believes that in order for Pant to demonstrate his talent, a space must be made for him in the team.

“You will have to create space for Rishabh Pant in the playing XI because he is one those players who can change a game on his own. His performance has improved a lot in the past year and there should be space for him in the team,”

Parthiv said on Cricbuzz Live

Rishabh should bat first, he continued, as that would provide the team a left-right mixture.

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“I think if he comes into the team he should open because it will give India a left-right combination. No one is doubting KL Rahul’s quality but because of his injuries he has been out of action for some time and we are too close to the World Cup to have doubt about the (opening) combination,”

Parthiv added