Rishabh Pant strictly told to copy Virat Kohli’s T20 batting style to fix his major flaws

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer wasn't impressed with the way Rishabh Pant batted in the game against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He said that the keeper-batter needs to get better in rotating the strike.

Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant has been having a tough time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. After bagging a series of low scores, the keeper-batter came up with a decent hand for his team in the match against Chennai Super Kings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Rishabh Pant didn't look at his fluent best against CSK

Pant was amongst the runs but didn't look at his fluent best. The Lucknow Super Giants skipper slammed a half-century but his strike rate was something that made many question him about his innings. The left-hander struggled to rotate the strike and it put his team under massive pressure.

Pant played 21 dot balls in his innings, and it was one of the major reasons why the Lucknow Super Giants posted a total of under 170. The Southpaw ended up playing an innings of 63 runs off 49 balls but his effort went in vain as Chennai Super Kings won the game by 5 wickets.

I feel he needs to get better at rotating strike as well - Wasim Jaffer on Rishabh Pant

Wasim Jaffer talked about Rishabh Pant's innings, saying that the keeper-batter gets stuck on the crease and should look at how Virat Kohli overcomes that by rotating the strike. He added that the left-hander needs to get better in that aspect of the game. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said:

"I don't know whether he looks to rotate the strike. Virat Kohli is a master at that. He gets off strike so nicely as he can play all around. But Pant sometimes does get stuck, and that's the issue. Then he goes for that big shot. I feel he needs to get better at rotating strike as well."

I feel he never looks to hit straight - Wasim Jaffer on Rishabh Pant

Wasim Jaffer added that Rishabh Pant attempts to hit towards the leg side rather than hitting straight. He pointed out how the Lucknow Super Giants batter was looking one-dimensional before suggesting him to access down the ground a lot more. He elaborated:

"I feel he never looks to hit straight. He always looks to go towards the leg side, towards the square leg, and to the cow corner. He hit one straight six right towards the end.

"Otherwise, at the start of the innings, he was always looking to go towards the leg side, or that reverse scoop that he played, but that was the only thing. A lot of the time, the teams stack up the fielders in that area as well. So I think he needs to access down the ground a lot more."

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