Rishabh Pant has impressed one and all and been taken seriously to replace MS Dhoni in the national side. He is being given ample opportunities for the same so that he can groom himself to tackle every situation. But there is a major issue with the youngster regarding his shot selection. With time this has become one of the focus areas for the team management that needs to be resolved at the soonest.
During an interview with Star Sports Ravi Shastri, the Head Coach of Indian cricket team talked about the same. He was quite clear while sharing his opinion on the same. He referred to Pant’s dismissal from the third ODI against West Indies in Pot-of-Spain. India needed 164 runs to win in 22.3 overs. Pant skipped down the track against bowler Fabian Allen off his first ball and lost his wicket. Initially, he was getting benefit of doubt due to his inexperience. But even with time there is no improvement as such. With the T20 World Cup scheduled for 2020 in Australia, this has become an important factor for the management. Shastri said, “When you see a shot like the one in Trinidad, off the first ball, [it’s disappointing]. He tries to repeat it a couple of times and gets out, he will be told.”
Since his IPL heroics, he has become one of the future faces of Indian cricket. The selectors earlier clearly mentioned that Pant is being considered as the ideal replacement for Dhoni and is being nurtured accordingly. His inability to judge a shot is putting him and the team in trouble every time. According to the coach’s version the young keeper is clearly under the scanner of team management due to his impatience behind shot selection.
Ravi Shastri, while talking about the same explained how it is important to deliver according to team’s need and one cannot let the team down like this always. “There will be a rap on the knuckles there – talent or no talent – because you are letting the team down, forget letting yourself down. You are letting the team down in a situation where you have the captain at the other end. You have a target to chase where the need of the hour is some sensible cricket.”
But the best part is that the coach has still complete faith on this young team member. Pant has to correct himself at the soonest by learning from his mistakes, the coach added. “No one will change his style but match awareness becomes crucial, shot selection becomes crucial in particular situations. If he can fathom that out, he could be unstoppable. You mentioned how many games [it would take], it could be one game, it could be four games. I don’t see more than that. He will learn. He has played enough IPL cricket. So it’s time now for him to step on to the stage and just show the world how devastating he is.”