Bowling coach Bharat Arun stated in Mumbai on Sunday that a hefty price tag has nothing to do with Rishabh Pant’s batting form and that the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants is only one innings away from reaching peak form.
The India wicketkeeper-batter has had a mediocre run with the bat since joining the team, despite being signed by LSG for an incredible Rs 27 crores in the mega auction prior to last year’s IPL.
In Pant’s first season in charge, LSG finished seventh. The left-hander scored 269 runs at a strike rate of 127.50 in 14 games, including a century and a fifty. Pant has contributed with 189 runs at a strike rate of 126.84 and one half-century, but LSG is currently sitting at the bottom of the points table with just two victories in eight games.
“I don’t think the price tag has got to do anything with it,” PTI quoted Arun replying when asked about Pant’s struggles for the last two years.
“It’s just a question of, if you really look at his batting throughout and if you look at the second game that we played, he took us through the (finish) line. I wouldn’t be too concerned about his form. It’s just a question of (him being) one innings away from getting back his form,” PTI quoted Arun telling reporters before LSG’s training session in Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
Every game left in the IPL group stage would be a knockout match for LSG, according to the former India bowling coach.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel. For us, we have no other way to go. Every game is a knockout for us right from here,” Arun said.
“I don’t think reading too much into data would really help. It’s just that how we perform and how we focus on the things that we are confident about matters the most,” he added.
According to Arun, Mohsin Khan is benefiting from the LSG coaching staff’s efforts to keep him fit throughout the off-season.
“Injuries are an inherent part of a fast bowler’s career. You can probably delay the onset of injuries. But every bowler can get injured,” he said.
“We have had camps two and a half months prior to this and our strength and training coach and the physios have really worked on him at least three months in advance for him to come back and remain in peak form. The kind of work he put into his fitness is reaping rewards right now.”
Arun reaffirmed that although Mayank Yadav is totally fit and bowling fast, the team management will make the decision about his selection.
“That’s for the team management to decide. But if you ask me if he’s fit, I would say yes, he’s fit and ready to go right now. He’s bowling quick and he’s back to his old ways where he started,” Arun said.
According to Arun, Mohammed Shami is making people question why he is not playing for India.
“Shami’s mindset is very, very clear. On numerous occasions, he (has) said, ‘selection is not in my hands but to do well is in my hands’. That’s exactly what he’s doing,” Arun said.
“If you look at the form in which he’s bowling, everybody now is talking ‘why is Shami not in the national team?’ I think it’s totally up to him. He enjoys his bowling (and) that is what he says.”
After playing the Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk the night before, the Mumbai Indians were not supposed to practice on Sunday. However, head coach Mahela Jayawardene and former captain Rohit Sharma showed up at the team’s home field.
Along with two members of the support crew, Rohit started a comeback route with some light running and warm-ups before spending a brief time in the nets with the bat.
