IPL 2024: Fans criticise Rishabh Pant for his knock vs SRH: 'Doesn't appear fit enough to represent India'

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IPL 2024: Rishabh Pant has been criticised by fans for his slow 44-run knock off 35 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday, April 21.

After being set a mammoth 277-run target, Delhi lost two wickets in the first two overs. Prithvi Shaw smashed four boundaries off the first four balls he faced before getting out on the fifth to build the tempo for Delhi.

Later, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel stitched an 84-run partnership off just 30 balls for the third wicket. However, once

Fraser-McGurk (65 off 18) departed after his 15-ball fifty. Porel also departed for 42 off 22, and the run-scoring dried up completely.

Rishabh Pant stayed till the end, partnering for 19 off 22 with Tristan Stubbs, 12 off 16 with Lalit Yadav, and 33 off 19 for the seventh wicket with Axar Patel. Pant managed to hit a single six in a match in which over 450 runs and 31 maximums were hit.

The 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batter struggled to get his timing right as Delhi got bundled out for 199 runs to lose the match by 67 runs and five balls remaining.

Fans have criticised Rishabh Pant for his knock, and raised concerns over his fitness as well. With the T20 World Cup 2024 approaching, they have suggested that the wicketkeeper-batter is not yet ready for a spot in the India squad.

Overall, Rishabh Pant has scored 254 runs in eight matches at an average of 36.28 and a strike rate of 150.29. The likes of Anjum Chopra have backed Pant to be picked in the India squad for the T20 World Cup, but a lot will depend on his remaining outings in the IPL 2024.