Rishabh Pant is fast running out of time to prove his worth in the shortest format of the game. The wicketkeeper-batsman has become an indispensable part of India’s Test team. He is also set to get a long rope in ODIs after his sensational match-winning series against England earlier this month.

Rishabh Pant’s form in T20I, however, has been disappointing. While the team-management has not shied away from backing him, the southpaw is yet to justify the faith shown in him. With the T20 World Cup not very far away, Pant needs to make his chances count.

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Since the start of 2020, he has scored only one fifty in 21 innings. His form in recent times has been really alarming. In his last 10 T20I innings, Pant has scored more than 30 only once while falling for single-digit scores 5 times.

His overall record in T20Is is not impressive either. Pant has already played 51 games but is yet to cement his spot in the team. In those 51 games, he has scored 782 runs at a modest average of 22.

Dinesh Karthik threatens to take Rishabh Pant’s spot:

With the T20 World Cup not very far away and Rishabh Pant’s form showing no signs of improving, there is a big possibility that veteran Dinesh Karthik might become the designated wicketkeeper-batsman of the team for the marquee event.

With the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul set to return to the team and Deepak Hooda performing whenever he gets the chance, Pant might be dropped from the team if he fails to hit top gear soon. Karthik has been in good form since this year’s IPL and showed his worth once again by playing a quickfire knock during the first T20I against West Indies.

Karthik slammed an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls to help India post a big total. In the same game, Pant managed only 14 off 12 balls. A few more failures in the ongoing five-match series might compel the team-management to take a tough decision on Pant.

India have been experimenting a lot ahead of the T20 World Cup to form the strongest possible squad and are likely to zero in on the final combination soon. And the way Pant has performed in T20Is in recent months, it won’t be surprising if he gets the axe.