3 reasons captaincy is a double-edged sword for Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant’s debut as Team India captain didn't go down too well with the men in blue failing to defend 211 runs against South Africa in the first T20I of the ongoing five-match series.

The wicketkeeper-batter assumed responsibility after KL Rahul was ruled out of the series due to an injury.

There were calls from some quarters to hand Hardik Pandya the captaincy as the all-rounder had just won the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans (GT).

But the team management decided to put their faith in Rishabh Pant.

Though the keeper has shown during his stint with the Delhi Capitals (DC) that he can handle captaincy and batsmanship together, here are three reasons why the Indian captaincy could be a double-edged sword for him:

#1 There would be increased scrutiny

With Pant replacing one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batters of all time in the Indian men's cricket team in MS Dhoni, it is but natural that a lot more eyeballs are on him each time he takes the field.

When the left-handed batter broke into the side, he was considered one of the biggest prospects in the recent history of Indian cricket. His early days at the international level have only gone onto cement the theory that he could grow into one of the greats of the game.

Pant is now a crucial component of the Indian team in all three formats and is one of the first names on the teamsheet.

The added responsibility of the captaincy will thus put him under increased scrutiny, considering he is now one of the senior players, and it will be down to him and the team management to counter that.

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#2 Didn’t have the best of IPLs as captain and batter

Rishabh Pant has a decent overall record as an IPL captain with 16 wins in 30 matches, with a win percentage of 55. He also led the Delhi Capitals to a top-of-the-table finish in the 2021 season, only to lose both their playoff matches and bow out.

But the recently-concluded season wasn’t quite up to the standards with respect to batting and captaincy for him. While DC finished fifth, his captaincy was called into question, especially in their defeat to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their final league match.

With the bat, he scored 340 runs in 14 matches, his lowest tally since the 2016 season, which was his debut IPL campaign.

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#3 Rishabh Pant needs to ensure captaincy doesn't affect his batting

The past two IPL seasons have seen Rishabh Pant struggle with the bat. While in 2021 he scored 419 runs, they came at a sub-par strike-rate of 128.52. And though the scoring rate improved this campaign, his run tally took a hit.

The 24-year-old will need to ensure that he doesn’t let the pressure of the captaincy affect his batting in any way. There was little proof of that in the first T20I against South Africa as the gloveman batted with confidence, scoring 29 off 16 to help India get to 211.

With over five years of international cricket and six years of IPL cricket under his belt now, Pant wouldn't surprise many if he comes out with flying colors with respect to his captaincy.

He would do brilliantly to continue batting in the same vein.