'Rishabh Pant an option to open in T20 World Cup,' says Mahela Jayawardene

Sri Lanka's batting legend Mahela Jayawardene feels wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is one of the prominent options for the opening slots for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November.

The 24-year-old southpaw, who opened twice during India's UK tour in the limited-over matches, made a strong case for himself at the position despite no prior domestic experience of playing at the slot.

"Even though he (Pant) hasn’t done that (open the batting) much in domestic cricket, he has the capacity to do that," Jayawardena told Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. "Wherever he bats, you’re not going to change his game. He is going to be a very natural player so yes, it is an option (for Pant to open)."

There's a cut-throat competition for the opening pair in the World Cup with Rohit Sharma being the only certainty as the captain of the side. Apart from him, KL Rahul is all set to return to the Indian setup after bouts with injury and COVID-19 while the likes of Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli also lay a claim to open the innings.

In fact, with India playing multiple squads, amid musical chairs of captains, India have tried up to 11 openers since 2021. Earlier former India captain Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that India are spoilt for choices when it comes to openers but he definitely likes the idea of Pant and Rohit as the opening pair in Australia.

“I love that idea of Rishabh Pant opening with Rohit Sharma. So that is something I am excited about, the possibility is there. It’s such a difficult one. You have got Virat Kohli, you have got KL Rahul, you have got Suryakumar Yadav and I think these are the three serious contenders. I am stumped,” Manjrekar told Sports18.

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