New Delhi: Had Rishabh Pant scored only 38 runs more, spread over five specific innings in his fledgling Test career, he would have had seven Test centuries. Instead he has only two to show for in the 18 Tests he has played so far. Rishabh Pant missed two hundreds in Australia. He got out for 97 in the second innings of the third Test and in the fourth he was unbeaten with a match-winning 89. He has missed five tons so far. It is because of his penchant for big shots to take the fight to the opponent’s camp and win matches.
Pant is just 23, and is fearless. Most importantly, he has the support and backing of captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri.
At times, however, Pant seems to lose focus and attempts ambitious shots that lead to his downfall. This happened in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against England also. At 91, he danced down the pitch to attempt a bit shot against off-spinner Dominic Bess and. He was caught at deep cover. With India trying to match England’s 578, it was a prudent shot selection.
It was the fifth instance of Pant missing a century when he was at handshaking distance with a three-figure mark. This has made tongues wag. Some people are questioning if Pant is an enigma, even as they acknowledge him as a match-winner of rare quality, in the Virender Sehwag mould.
“He (Pant) is surely not an enigma. He’s a game-changer and a match- winner. He is a special player, and has a ruthless mindset to win matches, something like that of Sehwag. So, he has to be persisted with and given a long rope,” Kiran More, former chairman of the national selection committee said.
“But he will have to temper his aggressive play at times. I am sure he will learn with experience. After all, he has helped India win two away series. And those wins have come against a top team, Australia, and on their home turf,” said the former India wicket-keeper.
The previous selection committee, headed by former India wicket-keeper MSK Prasad, had also backed Pant to the hilt. “We (selection committee) always backed him. We felt he is a match-winner with the bat. That’s why we made him deputy to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his early days and then Saha. It was done so that he would grow into a good wicketkeeper-batsman under the guidance of the two seniors,” Prasad said.
“With regard to batting, there’s absolutely no doubt that he’s a match- winner. He has done that, too, in Australia and England. He’s not a guy who plays for records; he loves to dominate. So, he should be left alone, and should be backed. Slowly, when the maturity dawns on him he will understand the value of his wicket. That’s how Adam Gilchrist of Australia an played in the early part of his career,” Prasad added.
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Nayan Mongia, a former India wicket-keeper, also backed Pant. “The team management and the selectors have invested so much in him. We need to back him. To a certain extent he has justified that. He should value his wicket and play according to the situation. Once he’s close to 80s and 90s he should convert those into big hundreds. He should continue playing his natural game. However, he needs to be sensible and understand the situation of the game. Sometimes you need to bat according to the team’s wishes also,” said Mongia.
It is Pant’s wicket-keeping that concern a few people. “Wicket-keeping is an area that Pant needs to work on. He needs a wicket-keeping coach. In fact, the Indian team need one as there are two other talented wicket-keepers around – Sanju Sampson and Ishan Kishan. Pant needs help and he is not getting it at the moment,” More pointed out.
Prasad concurred. “Right now Pant is in good space of mind. My only concern is that if he starts keeping wickets well, one skill will compliment that other (batting). Right now, since he has batted well in this Chennai Test, it has rubbed on to his wicket-keeping also, though he had a couple of opportunities missed. If he gets one more big knock Tuesday and finish off this Test on a high, then slowly he’ll be passing both tests in wicket-keeping and batting in this four-match series,” said Prasad.
Mongia, too, feels Pant needs to improve his wicket-keeping. “But he’s learning and improving, and needs to learn very fast because wicket-keeping is a specialised job. Even if you score a century, but drop a few catches, bowlers’ confidence will go down. He’s young and I’m sure he knows that he has to work on his game and fitness,” Mongia said.