IPL 2021: My Advice To Rishabh Pant Is To Play With Freedom, Have That Air Of Arrogance – Shane Watson

Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson has advised Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant to play with freedom ahead of the Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) encounter in the Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Watson lauded the wicketkeeper-batsman for his performance in the Qualifier 1 match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and was impressed with his one-handed sixers. Shane Watson stated:

“My advice to Rishabh Pant is to play with freedom, have that air of arrogance and confidence – that he does when he’s at his best, like he did in that last game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), those one-handed sixes,”

Former Australian cricketer further added that Pant should play with freedom avoiding the leadership burden to overtake his game. Watson stated:

“He’s absolutely crazy, the skills that he’s got, and for me, the advice would be to go out and have that confidence. Don’t allow the situations, the leaderships to dictate how you play. You go out and play with freedom – take the game on,”

Shane Watson labelled Rishabh Pant as a match-winner and he feels Pant can take the game away from the hands of the opposition very quickly. He asserted:

“If you feel that you can line up a bowler, then you fully commit to it and take him on – because he is a match-winner. He can take the game away from the opposition very quickly – and everyone wants to see that, the team wants to see that and him as a leader wants to see that as well,” said Watson.

KKR Really Turned Things Around – Shane Watson

The 40-year-old lauded Kolkata Knight Riders openers for turning things around for KKR in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“KKR really turned things around since Shubman Gill and (Venkatesh) lyer have started opening the batting and really taking on the game. You can see a big shift from the first leg of the IPL in India to the one in the UAE,” said Watson

Watson also praised Rahul Tripathi for performing well consistently in the middle-order.

“The intensity that they showed from ball one was very obvious and they are able to capitalize on it in the first six overs and because (Rahul) Tripathi in particular has been so good in middle overs, it has set up a platform for KKR to turn things around,” he added.

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