IND vs SA | Coach Rahul Dravid opens up on Rishabh Pant’s future

Team India head coach Rahul Dravid has made it clear that Team India’s young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is an integral part of the team's batting line-up heading into the marquee event - the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia.

24-year-old Pant was recently named captain of India in the five-match T20I series against South Africa in the absence of the usual captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. While the team started with two consecutive defeats, they bounced back well and levelled the series 2-2. The 5th T20I was abandoned due to rain. 

The left-hander has been going through a lean patch with the bat, and managed to score only 58 runs in his five outings, which has seen questions being raised about his batting abilities as well as his place in the team.

"In the process (of playing an attacking game), he might go wrong in a few games but he remains an integral part of our batting line-up with the power he has and the fact that he is a left-hander is important to us in the middle overs, he played some good knocks," Rahul Dravid said in the post-match press conference.

He continued: "Personally, he would have liked to score a few more runs but it is not concerning him. Certainly, he is a very big part of our plans going ahead in next few months."

However, Rahul Dravid also said that he will not judge Pant's captaincy on the basis of only one series.

"To bring a team back from 0-2 down and to level it at 2-2 and give us a chance to win was good. Captaincy is not about wins and losses only. He (Pant) is a young captain, growing as leader. It is too early to judge him and you don't want to do that after one series. It was nice to see he has got opportunities to lead, keep and bat. He had a lot of load on him but gaining from that experience and credit to him for ensuring that we went from 0-2 down to 2-2," Dravid also added.

On the other hand, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has said that Rishabh Pant is not under any pressure about retaining his spot in the T20I squad. He stated that Pant can improve when it comes to shot-selection in the T20 format of the game. It is also worth noting that many cricket experts have slammed the youngster for his poor showing in recent times.

"I don’t think so. It’s still early days. There are plenty of T20 matches still ahead. There is a T20I series in England, there is a T20I series in West Indies. I don’t think there is going to be any pressure on him. He is not the kind of character who takes pressure, he goes out and enjoys his cricket. And that’s the mindset that has brought him success," Gavaskar told Star Sports. "I will wait as there are still plenty of T20 matches before the World Cup. We can wait and then look at the form. We can decide anything but it’s up to the selectors to take the final call."

Meanwhile, Pant hasn’t been added to India's T20I series in Ireland as he will join the Test team in London for the one-off Test against England, starting July 1. The 24-year-old will be looking forward to contributing more with the bat, especially after his poor showing in recent times.