Former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori raised concerns over Rishabh Pant’s form, saying that the wicketkeeper batter is unclear about his approach and there is no flow to his game in hw T20 cricket.
Rishabh Pant didn’t play to the expectations in the T20I series against New Zealand, which India won (3-0).
Even though he smashed a four in the first match to take India home, he struggled with his timing for most of the innings.
The wicketkeeper batter smashed two consecutive sixes to win the game in the second match but failed to bail India out of trouble in the third game in Kolkata.
Pant came to bat when the hosts lost two quick wickets after a fiery start. He tried to take Mitchell Santner to the cleaners but only managed to hit the ball in the night sky and perished for just 4 runs to leave India in all sorts of trouble.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Daniel Vettori said that Rishabh Pant hasn’t got his tempo right in the T20 cricket. He stressed that sometimes wicketkeeper batter is extremely cautious and then becomes reckless.
He added that there’s no flow in Pant’s game and he hasn’t yet got the momentum and rhythm that the great T20 batters have.
“He hasn’t got his tempo right in T20 cricket. He hasn’t quite understood his role, particularly in this series. Sometimes he is overly cautious, then he is reckless. It doesn’t feel like there is a flow to his game. When you see great T20 batters batting well, it is all about flow and momentum and you just feel a rhythm to it. He hasn’t quite got that yet," Daniel Vettori said.
Daniel Vettori said that he’ll be surprised if team management doesn’t talk to him and be hard about what they expect from him. He suggested that If he doesn’t get his tempo right, team management can look elsewhere as they have Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul who can keep wickets in the side as well.
“I will be surprised if they (team management) don’t talk long and hard about what they expect from him. But, the onus is on Pant to find that right tempo. The reality is, if he doesn’t, they can look elsewhere.
“They have Ishan Kishan and KL can keep wickets as well in T20. They will give Pant the opportunity to find his rhythm, knowing that they can change pretty quickly as well," he said.
