South African batting veteran Faf du Plessis hailed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant’s talent and range of shots and attributed his lack of success in T20 cricket at the international level to “being almost frantic” at times. The batter advised the keeper-batter not to “premeditate” shots on every ball to find more consistency. This Indian Premier League (IPL) season will be a make-or-break one for Pant, who was catapulted to stardom in the late 2010s through this league and his sensational 360-degree hitting. However, his T20I career leaves too much to be desired, having scored just 1,209 runs in 66 innings at an average of 23.25 and a strike rate of 127.26, with three fifties. With India winning the T20 World Cup and wicketkeeper-batters Sanju Samson (Player of the Tournament) and Ishan Kishan playing massive roles in India’s campaign, Pant has been left way behind in the T20I pecking order, at least for the upcoming cycle leading up to the 2028 edition.
However, Pant having a disastrous LSG debut last season did not help either. With a price tag of Rs 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in league history, Pant failed to live up to the gigantic hype around his name, scoring just 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16, with just a century and a fifty to his name. His best score was an unbeaten 118, which came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Speaking on JioStar’s IPL Today Live, JioStar expert du Plessis spoke about the contrast between Rishabh’s consistent Test cricket game and his T20Is, wondering how this was possible when Pant has so many shots in his weaponry. He attributed the batter’s lack of T20I form to “always being on the edge” and “being almost frantic” at the crease.
“The talent that Rishabh Pant has is tremendous. You look at him playing Test cricket, and you think this guy has all the shots. When I look at his game, I feel he has too many options in his head. He feels like he can hit a six off every ball to any part of the ground. But in T20 batting, you still need a method. You need a game plan for how you go about your business. Look at all the great T20 players. You can almost have an idea of where they will score their boundaries and where they have slight weaknesses,” he said.
“They work their way through that. With Pant, I feel he is always on the edge. When you watch him play, you feel he can get out at any time because it is almost frantic at times. The surprising number for me is his T20 strike rate, which is around 130. How is that possible for a guy with so many shots? Maybe it is because we watch him in Test cricket playing these extravagant, exuberant innings, taking the game on. We almost feel that should just happen in T20 cricket as well,” he added.
Du Plessis also said that looking at the LSG set-up, which features a swashbuckling opening pair of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, and a fiery Nicholas Pooran, it is best suited for Pant to bat at number three.
“The success Marsh and Markram had at the top of the order for LSG last season is probably something I would expect them to start with again. So, maybe there is an opportunity for Pant to bat at number three. The numbers suggest that for him to be the best player he can be, number three looks good. I see him batting at number three for LSG this season, with Nicholas Pooran sliding down to number four,” he added.
Du Plessis noted that Pant’s stroke play is something that looks “all over the place”. He also said that Pant needs to give himself some time to figure out what his game plan looks like and not “premeditate” his shots on every ball.
“Yes, you might hit a few sixes and play a couple of good innings. But when teams bowl wide to him, he is good enough to have something else in his armoury to hit through the off side. His game plan is not one-dimensional. He can score all around the ground. For me, it is about his first six balls. When I look at him, he is almost like a highlight player. I want him to be more of a high-impact player in terms of what he can give in his numbers,” he concluded.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)