Ahead of the IPL 2020 final on Tuesday (November 10) in Dubai, former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg urged Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting to allow Rishabh Pant play his natural game and let him entertain the public in his own style of play.
Last IPL season, Pant had amassed 488 runs in IPL 2019, but in the ongoing IPL 2020, the Delhi batsman has been far from his best, struggling to score and find his usual rhythm with the bat and scored only 285 runs in his 12 matches without even a single fifty in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The explosive left-hander is known for his swashbuckling and attacking style of play, but in the IPL 2020, Pant has looked more conservative in his approach and seem to have curbed his natural instincts, resulting in him failing to gain any momentum and play big innings for DC in the IPL 13.
Reacting to his poor IPL 2020 season, Hogg feels the 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, who has been dropped from India's ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming tour of Australia, has been told by Ponting to play a little more conservative this season in the UAE.
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Hogg said Pant is a natural “entertainer” and he should be allowed to play his natural game as the youngster has the ability to take the game away from the opposition and holding him back is not in the best interests of his franchise and himself too.
In a video on his official YouTube channel, Hogg said: “I think Rishabh Pant has been told by Ricky Ponting to play a little more conservative this year. He wants him to bat right through the innings, has a lot more 'not outs' against his name.”
The Aussie further explained, “This guy is a maverick. He's an entertainer. He goes out there and he dominates bowling. You can't hold him back. Look at the last couple of series, he had the strike-rates of over-150. He takes the game away from the opposition players.”
He signed off by saying, “Take the shackles off him ahead of the next match, let him loose and let him entertain the public please, Ricky Ponting. We want to see the best of Rishabh Pant.”
(With PTI Inputs)
