Legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels the team management should be more vigilant in identifying the best role for Rishabh Pant in the Indian batting line-up. The 70-year-old reckons the young wicketkeeper batsman would be better suited at No.5 where the team could benefit a lot from his naturally attacking style of play. 

"Giving him a bit of breathing space by slotting him at No. 5 could also help, for at that number he will invariably come in to bat where his aggressive batting is needed from the start rather than when he has to build his and the team’s innings,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.

"Just like a little tweak in the grip can make a world of difference to a player as a bowler or as batsman, so also a little tweak in the batting order could change the fortunes of a player."

Gavaskar believes Pant, on his part, must try to better his shot selection and understanding of the situation. The batting great also asked the coaching staff and the captain to refrain from any public comment on the 21-year-old's game. 

"With experience, he will be better at shot selection and will be more consistent but right now he needs a hand around his shoulders rather than a public dressing down."

"The most important thing for the young man to understand is that he has to play according to the situation and not according to the expectations of the public," he added. "The talented young man is going through the second-season blues which most players go through."

"In the first season, there’s not that much information about the player and so he can sail through without much difficulty but by the time the second season starts, there is more data and info available not just through the recorded matches but also through the cricketing grapevine. So the opposition is better primed," Gavaskar concluded. 

(Inputs from Mid-Day)