Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara has admitted he finds it “very surprising” that Rishabh Pant has not been able to dominate the IPL the way he has conquered Test cricket, saying the wicketkeeper-batter’s T20 numbers do not reflect his immense talent.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Speaking as a JioHotstar CTV Hindi feed expert, Pujara said Pant remains one of the finest all-format batters in the country but believes clarity of thought and mindset issues may be holding him back in T20 cricket.“I am also very surprised because someone like Rishabh Pant who can attack any bowler in Test cricket and his IPL, when we just look at the stats, it is not as good as in Test cricket,” Pujara said during an interaction with reporters on Wednesday.
Pant’s contrast between formats has increasingly become a talking point. While he remains India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in Tests, he is no longer part of the T20I setup and is currently behind KL Rahul in the ODI pecking order.In 49 Tests, Pant has scored 3476 runs with eight centuries and 18 fifties, including memorable hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa. In comparison, his IPL numbers — 3757 runs in 134 matches at a strike rate of 146 with two centuries — are considered modest for a batter of his reputation.
‘It’s more about mindset than technique’
Pujara insisted that Pant does not require major technical changes but needs greater clarity in his approach during T20 innings.“I think it is the mindset thing also. There has to be some more clarity in the way Rishabh plays,” Pujara explained.“Technically, I don’t see a lot of changes which is needed in Rishabh’s batting. It’s just the mindset.”According to Pujara, Pant looks far more certain about his scoring areas in Test cricket than in T20s.“It’s also clarity of thoughts, clarity in what he needs to do when he walks in to bat and the kind of shots he should play because in Test cricket, he knows that these are his areas and even if the field is kept on the fence, he still picks the right pockets to hit the shots,” he said.The veteran batter also pointed towards a possible limitation in Pant’s white-ball game.“In T20 format, he is a little more dominant on the leg side where he will have to work on his game on the off side which will allow him to be even more successful,” Pujara added.
Captaincy burden affecting Pant?
Pujara also questioned whether captaincy pressure could be affecting Pant’s performances in the IPL.“We have seen that captainship hasn’t been helping him a lot,” Pujara said. “Especially in the case of Rishabh Pant, if he is focusing more on his game, that will definitely help him.”However, Pujara maintained that the final decision rests with Pant and the franchise management.“If Rishabh Pant plays as a player will his performance get better? If it does, then I’m sure he should do that, but it is always a personal call,” he added.Pujara also defended Suryakumar Yadav amid criticism over inconsistency in T20 cricket, saying impact matters more than statistics in the format.“Consistency is overrated in a T20 format,” Pujara said.
