Who among Shreyas Iyer or Rishabh Pant is ‘match winner’? Former cricketer Nikhil Chopra makes BOLD statement

Team India’s dilemma regarding the number 4 batting spot in limited-overs cricket has continued to haunt the Men in Blue for quite some time now. Many players have been tried and tested at the number 4 batting slot, however, no player has been able to cement their place in the squad, at that very position. 

Recently, there have been suggestions, regarding Shreyas Iyer doing well at that slot. After recovering from Covid just in time, ahead of India’s third ODI against West Indies, Iyer struck a fifty after coming out to bat at number 4. 

However, as per the opinion of former cricketer Nikhil Chopra, Iyer is no match for Rishabh Pant when it comes to winning a match for India. 

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Pant opened the innings alongside Rohit in the second ODI, and he did reasonably well, which highlights a dilemma when it comes to Rishabh Pant’s best batting position. 

In a recent interaction with Khelneeti podcast, Nikhil was asked if India could rest Pant, employ Iyer at number 4 and ask Ishan Kishan to keep wickets, to which he stated that Pant remains an integral part of the Team India setup. 

“Rishabh Pant is an integral part of the team and I don’t think India are envisaging a side without him. It is not a bad suggestion (Kishan keeping wickets) and is definitely a combination that can be tried. But I feel it would be better if Pant is told to take greater responsibility and show better game awareness,” he replied. 

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Lately, Rishabh Pant has come under the scanner dush to his rash batting displays. The youngster was dismissed for 8 runs in the first T20I, but Nikhil nonetheless feels, Pant is a much better match-winner when compared to Shreyas Iyer. 

“Pant can be extremely explosive on his day, as we all know. And, with no disrespect to Shreyas Iyer, he is nowhere near Pant when it comes to being a match-winner on a given day. Even on an average day for both, Pant will be the more dangerous of the two,” added the former off-spinner.