IND vs SA: When You Talk About X-Factor, Rishabh Pant Comes To Mind - Zaheer Khan
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan heaped praise on Indian wicket-keeper batter, Rishabh Pant, after the latter’s magnificent counter-attacking knock in the second ODI against South Africa.
Pant walked in when India had lost two quick wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. He played his natural innings while KL Rahul at the other end ensured that India didn’t lose their way. Pant fell 15 short of his maiden century but the knock underlined how important he is to the Indian team.
“When you talk about a player who has got the X-Factor, Rishabh Pant comes to mind. He’s got versatility that puts him in a different category. If one manages to do things which other players are not able to pull off, expectations tend to rise as well as pressure.”
“But Pant is a character and he’s least bothered about the commentary or outside noise. Virender Sehwag also used to be like that in our times.
“He used to think about his own game instead of focussing on other things… and Pant also has got a similar approach. You can’t judge him on the basis of his stats due to the amount of risk that he takes. He’s an impact player,” Zaheer said on Cricbuzz.
“Pant should be utilized as an impact player” – Zaheer Khan
Instead of having a fixed spot for Pant, Zaheer thinks that it’s far more suitable to see him play as a floater depending on the situation that India is in. Since the middle overs are India’s weakest period, Pant’s explosiveness might help them improve that aspect of their game.
“I don’t think his batting position has affected his performance in limited-overs. India instead expects flexibility from him. They have a player who can come in to bat according to the situation.
“You can’t correlate his form and batting position… these are two completely different things. Pant should be utilized as an impact player rather than alloting a fixed batting spot to him,” Zaheer mentioned.
