Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant during the warm-up session. (Annie’s photo)
New Delhi: Former India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has admitted that he finds it “very surprising” that Rishabh Pant has not been able to dominate the IPL the way he conquered Test cricket, saying the wicket-keeper-batsman’s T20 numbers do not reflect his immense talent.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Speaking as a JioHotstar CTV Indian feed, Pujara said Pant remains one of the best batsmen across all formats in the country but believes clarity of thought and mentality issues may hold him back in T20 cricket.“I am also very surprised that someone like Rishabh Pant can attack any player in Test cricket and his IPL, when we just look at the stats, they are not as good as they are in Test cricket,” Pujara said during an interaction with reporters on Wednesday.
He watches
Justin Langer finds positives in LSG defeat, praises Nicholas Pooran and supports Rishabh Pant
Pant’s disparity between formats has increasingly become a point of discussion. Although he remains India’s first-choice wicket-keeper in Tests, he is no longer part of the T20I set-up and is currently behind KL Rahul in the ODI pecking order.In 49 Tests, Pant scored 3,476 runs with eight centuries and 18 fifties, including memorable hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa. In comparison, his numbers in the Indian Premier League – 3,757 runs in 134 matches at an average of 146 runs with two centuries – are modest relative to his reputation.
“It’s more about mentality than technique.”
Pujara insisted that Pant does not require major technical changes but needs more clarity in his approach during the T20 innings.“I think it’s about mentality as well. There has to be more clarity in the way Rishabh plays,” Pujara explained.“Technically, I don’t see a lot of changes needed in Rishabh’s batting. It’s just the mentality.”According to Pujara, Pant seems more confident about his scoring areas in Test cricket compared to T20s.“It’s also the clarity of thoughts, the clarity of what he should do when he comes in to bat and what kind of shots he should play because in Test cricket, he knows those are his areas and even if the pitch stays on the fence, he still picks the right pockets to hit the shots.”The veteran batsman also pointed out potential limitations in Pant’s white-ball game.“In the T20 format, he is a little more dominant on the leg side as he will have to work on his game on the off side which will allow him to be more successful,” Pujara added.
Captain’s burden affecting Pant?
Pujara also wondered if the captain’s pressure might affect Pant’s performance in the Indian Premier League.“We saw that the leadership did not help him much,” Pujara said. “Especially in Rishabh Pant’s case, if he focuses more on his game, it will definitely help him.”However, Pujara stressed that the final decision rests with Pant and the franchise management.“If Rishabh Pant plays as a player, will his performance improve? If that happens, I’m sure he should do it, but it’s always a personal call,” he added.Pujara also defended Suryakumar Yadav amid criticism over inconsistency in T20 cricket, saying impact matters more than statistics in the format.“Consistency is overrated in the T20 format,” Pujara said.
