Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar reckons that it’s the right time for Rishabh Pant to think about his batting. In the ongoing series against South Africa, Pant has not been able to make a mark with his willow. He has scored 29, 5, 6, and 17 in the last 4 matches.
In a chat with Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar said, “People expect that he will come along and start hitting the ball for boundaries and sixes. That is something, which because of what he has performed over the last 3-4 years, people have come to expect, and therefore there is that disappointment. But what I think he needs to do, is introspect.
What happens during captaincy often is that sometimes you are not thinking about your own game. You are thinking about the game of others – bowlers or batters. So you forget that there may be some technical issue with your own batting. And that is what he has to sit down and think. He has got 2 days. First and foremost, he will feel a lot better that India have won. So that little bit of pressure is off. It will give him a little bit of relief and he has got to think about his batting now”.
This was the third time in the series when Pant got out while attempting the delivery wide outside-off. “He hasn’t learned. He hasn’t learned from his previous three dismissals. They throw wide, and he keeps going for it. He can’t throw enough muscle on that. He has got to stop looking to go aerial that far outside the off-stump,” spoke Gavaskar during his commentary on Star Sports.
After India crushed South Africa by 82 runs in the fourth game, Pant too admitted that there are “certain areas” in his batting that he needs to improve.
“As an individual, I can look to improve in certain areas. Not too concerned though. Looking to take the positives and looking to improve. Let’s see what happens in Bangalore. Looking forward to giving our 100 per cent,” said Pant in the post-match presentation on Friday night.
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