Rishabh Pant has not been in the best of form. In the three match ODI series against New Zealand. He has been backed by the management amidst a dry spell of form. He has played three ODI matches against the Blackcaps and scored just 25 runs. He has had an average of 12.50 and a strike rate of 64.10.
A lot of people have been discussing Pant's form, one among them has been renowned cricket broadcaster Harsha Bhogle who had this to say about Pant, “I had asked the same question to Sehwag, now I'll ask you. Looking at you, we get the feeling that white-ball cricket is your USP but it's your Test record that is better,” Bhogle talked about it in the pre match show.
This irked Pant and this was his reply, “Sir, records are just numbers. My white-ball record is not bad either,” To this Bhogle said that his numbers across formats was good and that he was comparing red ball and white ball records to which Pant said, “Doing comparisons is not a part of my life. I'm 24-25, if you want to compare, you can do that when I am 30-32,” The fans did not take kindly to this curt reply by Pant.
In the 20-20 World Cup that just finished in Australia, he played only two matches, one against Zimbabwe and then in the semi-final against England. He scored just 9 runs in 2 innings. He has made them at an average of 4.50 and a strike rate of 100. He could not make it count in the semi-final. Dinesh Karthik being played ahead of him made matters worse.
His form across all three formats has been on the wane. Even in the Asia Cup 2022. He scored only 51 runs in four matches at an average of 25.50 and at a strike rate of 124.39. Pant created a storm on twitter after he replied to Bhogle. Twitter was abuzz, let us take a look at the reactions here-
Rishabh pant's response to Harsha Bhogle shows why you should never overhype your kid just after getting few good grades. Bcz nxt time you try and correct him, he is going to school you.
— Vitamin Protein ❁ (@VitaminProteen) November 30, 2022
Very immature what pant said during the chat with @bhogleharsha Bhai @RishabhPant17 tere liye logic nai hoga compare karna lekin selectors aur dekhne vaalo k liye hai more deserving candidates bahar baithe hai and the way you said t20 mai thik hai 66 t20s log apne complete career
— Ajinkya Deshpande (@BeingJinkszzD) November 30, 2022
Although I agree he is targeted a bit too much but that tone he is taking with a senior commentator like @bhogleharsha is really off! https://t.co/1DjHmH4Ciq
— Shivin Mathur (@mathursahhab) November 30, 2022
This man bats and speaks in the same tone. Senseless.#INDvsNZ @BCCI https://t.co/JD4fIqA3vD
— Ketul Gandhi (@ketul_gandhi49) November 30, 2022
@bhogleharsha , thanx for being so gutsy. and whole india respect you for that. and plz dont mind that arrogant brat @RishabhPant17 .. he will never reach to your level of respect. obviously fields are different. but respect comes 1st as cricket is gentlemen's game. isn't it?
— Dr. Aashish Yd (@chinmocho) November 30, 2022
And the failures?
— Munish Jain (@MunishKJ) November 30, 2022
RISHABH PANT
Naam to suna hoga.
At the age of 25-26 Rishabh Pant behaving like a Chhoti bachi..!!
— inder Singh bhati (AD) (@InderSinghBha18) November 30, 2022
He literally has lost his cool while speaking to harsha bhogle when asked about white ball performance..!! #RishabhPant #SanjuSamson #INDvsNZ
Just saw the Harsha Bhogle bit with Rishabh Pant. Wow, Pant seem to have lost his cool when Harsha Bhogle just said that his Test record is the best as compared to other formats. #INDvNZ #RishabhPant #JusticeForSanjuSamson #BCCI#Harsha #RuturajGaikwad #Sports #WashingtonSundar pic.twitter.com/6YiMWL7UMS
— Prince Tiwari (@princetwari24) November 30, 2022
When @RishabhPant17 can wait in a hotel lobby, why can't he wait on the cricket pitch ? He can be told that imagine you are in the lobby ...wait.... play around.
— The_Universal_Star (@Tantya_Bheel) November 30, 2022
That may seem like a nasty crack but it's the truth. @BCCI @VVSLaxman281 #IndvsNZ
Talk about the failure of Rishabh Pant as well , I know you aren't afraid of criticize a player
— 🇮🇳 🏴 Nithin 🏴 🇮🇳 (@nithinkunnummal) November 30, 2022