Kiran More Encourages Rishabh Pant Amid IPL Struggles

Support for Rishabh Pant

Kiran More, a former Indian cricketer and current chairman of selectors, has offered words of encouragement to wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who recently lost his position as Test vice-captain following a disappointing season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Despite Pant's ongoing challenges in limited-overs cricket, highlighted by his exclusion from India's ODI squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, his Test career has also faced setbacks. KL Rahul has been appointed as the vice-captain for the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting June 6.

Kiran More's Confidence in Pant

In a conversation with a news outlet, Kiran praised Rishabh as a "remarkable player and a fighter," expressing confidence that he will overcome this challenging phase, which he believes is common in every cricketer's journey. More emphasized that this change in leadership roles should not be viewed as a demotion but rather as an opportunity for Pant to play more freely.

"Rishabh Pant is an exceptional player and a fighter. Every cricketer experiences ups and downs. Regardless of titles like captain or vice-captain, the goal is to represent India and secure victories. He will certainly make a comeback and contribute to winning Test matches for India," he stated.

"He has achieved numerous centuries for India in challenging conditions abroad. I believe he won't be affected by this change. The coaching staff aims to relieve him of leadership pressures, which is a positive step," he added.

Pant's IPL Performance

During the current IPL season, Rishabh has struggled to replicate his earlier success, accumulating only 286 runs in 12 innings with an average of 28.60 and a strike rate exceeding 140, including just one half-century. His team is currently at the bottom of the points table, having secured only four wins out of 13 matches, thus missing the playoffs.

India's Test Squad for Afghanistan

The squad for the Test match against Afghanistan includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, and Dhruv Jurel.

India's ODI Squad for Afghanistan

The ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan features: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey.