Rishabh Pant declared a fluke white-ball player by ex-India batting coach
Published - 10 May 2025, 12:53 PM | Updated - 10 May 2025, 02:51 PM
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Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar shared his take on Rishabh Pant's poor form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He said that the Lucknow Super Giants skipper is yet to understand the white-ball game in both formats.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant had a tough time with the bat in the first phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The keeper-batter looked torrid with the bat in all the games and faced massive criticism for his poor outings.
Rishabh Pant slammed 128 runs after playing 129 balls in IPL 2025
Rishabh Pant, who became the most expensive player in the history of the league with INR 27 crore, failed to justify his price tag as he hardly played to his potential. Not only this, he also came under scanner as a skipper as Lucknow Super Giants lost many close games as well.
Overall, in the 11 matches so far in IPL 2025, Rishabh Pant has scored 128 runs after playing 129 balls. He managed just one half-century, but what was shocking was his strike rate, which was under 100, especially given his reputation as a big hitter that he has.
We have to recognise that he's still yet to understand the white-ball game - Sanjay Bangar on Rishabh Pant
Sanjay Bangar talked about Rishabh Pant, saying that the keeper-batter is yet to understand the white-ball game. He pointed out how the batter got out while looking to play shots behind the wicket. Speaking on Star Sports, he said:
"We have to recognise that he's still yet to totally understand the white-ball game - both formats, 50-over cricket as well as T20 cricket. A fabulous Test match batter, make no mistake about it, but here in this particular season, what I noticed is that he got out a number of times looking to play shots behind the wicket,"
"Now, you pull out the best innings of Rishabh - where has he looked to score the runs? Drives through covers, step down the track and try to hit the sightscreen or go over midwicket, square."
He plays at his best, is when he's looking to score down the ground - Sanjay Bangar on Rishabh Pant
Sanjay Bangar added that Rishabh Pant was caught in confusion and in an attempt to play behind the wicket, he forgot that his best game is to score down the ground. Elaborating on the same, he said:
"But here he was trying to play those reverse sweeps or shots that are very fine. So as a batter, I think probably he just got caught in that confusion and forgot that his best game, or that he plays at his best, is when he's looking to score down the ground.
"If you do look to score down the ground a lot of times, then all those other areas open up. But if you're only looking to score behind, then whatever is in front of you, you sort of are very much late and not in a great position to play."
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Ankitjit is an author at Cricketaddictor. He has been working with the organization since April 2023... Read more
