India played with similar faces in the second T20I against New Zealand with the likes of Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, and Umran Malik sitting on the bench. Though Men in blue registered a comfortable 65 runs win, everyone’s attention was on Rishabh Pant, who yet again flopped with a poor performance in the shortest format of the game. Pant played in the last two matches that India played at the T20 World Cup 2022 but failed to leave his mark.

With senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli given a break, India promoted the wicket-keeper batter as an opener, but Pant once again disappointed with the bat. The left-handed batter managed to score just 6 runs off 13-balls before losing his wicket to Lockie Ferguson.

Seeing Pant constantly struggling to perform well in the T20IS but getting to play ahead of Sanju Samson, many Indian fans and some cricketing experts have expressed their anger at the playing XI selection. In 2022, the 25-year-old batter played 24 T20I matches and scored just 353 runs at an average of 22. On the other hand, Samson has scored 179 runs in just 6 T20I matches at an average of 44.75.

Samson, who had done so well in recent times, is still deprived of opportunities. Looking at the numbers, the selectors and team management should think about giving the right-handed batter a chance in playing XI. The cricketing world expects Samson to play in the series decider, which will be played today (November 22) at McLean Park.