The reason behind Rishabh Pant’s lean patch with the bat has been decoded by his childhood coach Devender Sharma, who has advised the wicketkeeper-batter to get back to the basics of batting.
Sharma said that Pant is playing too many horizontal shots and throwing his wickets away. Rather, he should be looking to play more vertical shots in the off-side.
Pant had a forgettable IPL for the second season in a row following which he stepped down as Lucknow Super Giants captain. He has been dropped from the white-ball squads, and only plays in the Tests where he recently lost his vice-captaincy.
“He is trying too much and mostly playing horizontal shots. He is pushing & forcing himself too much. He should play more vertical shots that will give him more success.
“When I last talked to him, I had suggested him to play more vertical shots to get back into form. When you are not getting runs, you need to get back to basics,” Sharma told PTI.
Pant will be next seen in action in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting in Mullanpur on June 6.
“I will tell him to play a little differently with a different approach as there is a lot of difference in Test and T20 cricket. Last time when he played Test for India, he played a match winning innings. I am sure he will do it again against Afghanistan,” said Sharma, who is a coach at Sonnet Club in Delhi.
“He should show controlled aggression. He should concentrate more. The problem is that he has too many strokes (shots) backfoot, frontfoot. He must cut down on his innovative shots. He should play more on the off-side rather than on the on-side,” he explained.
Sharma pointed out that it was just a matter of time that Pant returned to form and again winning matches for India.
“Rishabh is a mentally strong cricketer. After the car accident, when he went to England, he scored centuries in both innings of a Test match. It’s a big thing for a cricketer.
“I have seen him since childhood and groomed him. Whatever matches he played after the accident, he played well. IPL is a white ball game. He had a lean patch there. It comes in every big cricketer’s career. Ups and downs come in every cricketer’s life.
“It’s a phase and it will go. I am quite hopeful that Rishabh will come back strongly and win matches for India again,” he added.
Pant lost his place in the T20 side following the 2024 World Cup and his name doesn’t feature in the ODI squad for the upcoming three matches against Afghanistan.
But Sharma believes that Pant still remains a three format player. “He has solid defense and all range of shots. But in cricket things don’t always go the way you want. He did not click in IPL this year. It’s a team game. There is always pressure of captaincy but I don’t think it was too much on him. He couldn’t do well. It’s alright. It’s a part of the game.”
On where he sees Pant heading to in his career, Sharma said: “There is a lot of cricket left in Rishabh. At least 10 to 12 years of cricket is left in him. If he pays attention to fitness he can even play 15 more years. Virat Kohli is an example. He is performing, leading by example, winning the IPL Trophy on his own.
“I hope that he plays well in this Test match and wins it for India. He is a match winner and so he must win it for India. This is going to be his 50th Test match. I do not think, he has any pressure on him.”
