scorecardresearch
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
Advertisement

Rishabh Pant should drop down from No.4 to regain form: VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman said the 21-year-old shouldn't be put under too much pressure as every player goes through rough patches at some point.

Rishabh Pant, India vs West Indies stats, Rishabh Pant records, Most consecutive T20I wins against West Indies,most economical spell T20I India, Highest score Rishabh Pant’s approach has been a topic of debate for some time. (PTI/File Photo) 

Rishabh Pant’s natural aggressive game is not working for him at the No.4 position, says Indian batting great VVS Laxman, who feels the youngster can regain his form by coming in lower down the order. Pant’s approach has been a topic of debate for some time. Even chief coach Ravi Shastri has stated that the youngster’s shot-selection has been way off the mark on a few occasions.

Laxman said the solution to Pant’s problems could be as simple as dropping down the order. “The nature of Rishabh Pant’s batting is that he plays aggressive shots…unfortunately at the international level he is not able to succeed at the number four position,” Laxman said on ‘Star Sports’.

“Pant should bat at number 5 and 6, where you have the license to go out and express yourself and at the moment he doesn’t know the right method of scoring runs at number 4,” he pointed out.

Advertisement

Laxman said the 21-year-old shouldn’t be put under too much pressure as every player goes through rough patches at some point. “Every player goes through this phase, his natural game is free-flowing but suddenly he is not gaining the same results (which he did with Delhi franchise in the IPL),” Laxman said.

“He is trying to evolve and trying to add different dimensions to his game by rotating the strike that we saw in the previous match but unfortunately, his shot selection at the start of the innings has not been great,” he added.

Festive offer

Laxman said Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya seem better options for the No.4 slot as of now. “There are other people to bat at number 4 like Hardik Pandya and Shreyas Iyer who are experienced and could play at that spot,” he said.

Defending Pant, Laxman said being called the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s heir apparent has also put the wicketkeeper-batsman under pressure. “He also has a lot of pressure as he is taking the place of MS Dhoni who has done a lot for Indian cricket, to get his confidence back the team management needs to let him go bat at number 5 or 6 and express himself,” said Laxman.

Get latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.

First uploaded on: 23-09-2019 at 12:15 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close