Star India batter believes it is unfair to judge Rishabh Pant's place in ODI team based on T20I numbers

The Indian team released Rishabh Pant on Sunday ahead of the start of the ODI series against Bangladesh. The Indian Cricket Board's statement on Pant's departure was devoid of specifics. As Inda began their preparations for the ODI World Cup next year, the news came amid ongoing criticism of his form and, as a result, his place in the ODI squad.

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He's done very well for himself: Dinesh Karthik

However, senior India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has come out in support of Pant, making a hard-hitting statement amid the ongoing criticism. Speaking to Cricbuzz ahead of the Bangladesh series, Karthik urged critics not to judge Pant's place in the ODI team solely on his T20I performance. He felt the criticisms were all unfair, citing Pant's stellar ODI numbers.

"We need to look at it separately. In one-day cricket in the last 10 innings, he averages 45-plus. He obviously got the match-winning score of 120 (125 not out) in the recently concluded series in England. So he's done very well for himself and when someone has done very well for himself, you cannot look at him and say 'Oh he should be from one-day cricket'," he said.

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"I think, you know, you need to give him the opportunity to be out there and do well and if he doesn't do well, then move on. But you can't just move away because he has done something else in another format. I think that's something that's unfair to the player as well.

"I think because of the amount of cricket, especially T20 that is played, obviously, they are comparing that and adding those scores and saying, 'Oh, he hasn't done well'. That's not how we need to look at things," he added.

KL Rahul was selected as the wicketkeeper in Pant's absence for the Mirpur game on Sunday, and he scored a half-century while dropping a crucial catch in India's one-wicket loss.