Rishabh Pant more suited to batting lower down the order presently, reckons VVS Laxman

For a 21-year-old, Rishabh Pant’s record in the domestic circuit is exemplary, which has seen him already cement a spot in the national team cross all the formats of the game. However, he has failed to live up to expectations in the limited overs for the Men in Blue, with a vast drop in his average from domestic cricket. However, VVS Laxman believes that the player’s fortunes can be revived by letting him play further down the order which will allow him some freedom to use his power-hitting abilities to the full.

“The nature of Rishabh Pant’s batting is that he plays aggressive shots; unfortunately at the international level he is not able to succeed at the number four position. Pant should bat at number 5 and 6, where you have the license to go out and express yourself and at the moment he doesn’t know the right method of scoring runs at number 4,” the former Indain cricketer was reported saying by Sportstar.

While Pant averages nearly 34 in T20s, that number falls to 20 when it comes to internationals. More surprisingly, his strike rate drops from a highly impressive 160 to a relatively low 120. Even though he is adept at first class cricket, as is seen by his average of nearly 45 in Tests for India, he has failed to accomodate a more conservative approach to his batting in limited overs in the international arena. 

“Every player goes through this phase, his natural game is free flowing but suddenly he is not gaining the same results [which he did with Delhi Capitals in the IPL]. He is trying to evolve and trying to add different dimensions to his game by rotating the strike that we saw in the previous match but unfortunately, his shot selection at the start of the innings has not been great,” Laxman added.

A new wave of youngsters has seen Shreyas Iyer emerge alongside the wicket keeper and he provides a much more stable presence in the middle-order. Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, usually plays the role of a finisher due to his prowess to score runs at an electrifying rate but in recent years his batting style has matured and Laxman feels the two are capable of handling the responsibility of batting up the order.

“There are other people to bat at number 4 like Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer who are experienced and could play at that spot,” he said.

Pant’s work is cut out considering he has come into the team as a replacement of one of India’s best batsmen of all time, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The veteran has more than 17,000 runs in India’s colours and will be leaving behind huge boots to fill.

“He also has a lot of pressure as he is taking the place of MS Dhoni, who has done a lot for Indian cricket. To get his confidence back the team management needs to let him go bat at number 5 or 6 and express himself,” Laxman signed off.