Former India coach Ravi Shastri has advised Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant to smack everything in his sight without caring who the bowler is and bat in the ‘Andre Russell’ mode.
It has not been a good outing in IPL 2022 for Rishabh Pant and DC team. DC is placed 5th in the points table with 5 wins from 11 matches and needs to win all 3 of the remaining games with considerable margins to have a chance to make it into the final four.
Pant himself has not had a good time with the bat, scoring 281 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 152.71, but has struggled to make meaningful contributions and big scores. He has shown glimpses of his destructive power but could not take the team over the line like he has done umpteen times in the past.
"I feel once he gets the tempo going he shouldn't change, he should be in the Russell mold in this format of the game. You get your eye in, you're striking it well - don't think too much. No matter who the bowler is, if it's there to be smacked, smack it. Who knows, you might win more matches than people expect you to,” Shastri said on ESPNCricinfo’s 'T20 Time Out'.
Shastri said that Russell has that clarity of mind making him one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket. And he feels Pant will be able to do the same if he brings that clarity into his mindset as well.
"Russell is very, very clear in his mindset. It is bang-bang-bang once he's in the mood. There's no stopping him, there's not even a negative thought that will peep through his system - it is (all about) smacking. Rishabh is totally capable of playing in that fashion, and I hope he thinks in that way because you'll see some special innings from him in T20 cricket. He's getting off to starts and then getting out in a manner which he wouldn't like, but I don't think he should change his tempo,” he added.
(PTI inputs)
