My Analysis of Rishabh Pant!
So I have been one of the biggest supporter of Rishabh Pant over the last 7-8 years and I am just writing my analysis and opinion of what he has made of himself. This is not a hate/troll post, nor a post defending him (can't defend him rn anyway)
So I feel the biggest mistake Rishabh Pant did after his 2024 comeback was trying to make his brand of cricket. You see his ulta girta hua shots right, after his comeback and in test matches, when he used to hit a reverse hit on Boland or any other shots like that, people, media and commentators used to applaud that. I think that essentially got in his head and he tried to make it his main style of play. Just like AB is considered as MR.360, he did want to do something similar with himself. That's what I have noticed him trying to do over past 2-3 years.
And honestly that has failed miserably. He stopped focusing on his real, conventional game, drives, cuts, finding gaps or even hitting with power and tried to replace those with those ulta-girta shots.
The thing is...in the past also Pant used to be under fire for getting out or throwing his wicket, but atleast that used to be on proper mistimed shots. It's just sad seeing him bat nowadays, not being able to pull properly, being clueless on off side balls, and worst of all, his ulta-girta hua shots also have no technique now. Remember last match? tried to hit a shot on jofra that went between his legs and could have hit the wicket? Sad seeing such a big downfall.
Tho here is my honest take as one of his biggest fans, on what he should do -
- Leave LSG. Get in the auction and go to some other team on whatever 2-4 crores you get. That will give him a mental reset too. Also tbh he does not fit in the LSG batting lineup anyway. For instance remove Iyer from PBKS, or Kishan from SRH and compare that to removing Pant from LSG... Leave lsg or come back at a lower price, that'd be best for both
- Grind in the nets and domestics. Play proper cricketing shots, rotate strikes, hit well-timed boundaries, rediscover the art of batting or atleast your own template at which you used to play in 2018-19.
- Figure out his role. Whether he wants to be a top order batter, a finisher etc. And start developing a game around that. Why I am saying this is his game currently is in shambles, no clarity at all, so he must start from scratch.
- Leave captaincy ambitions. Honestly, he is not a captain material. Not saying this only because of his performance this season. Saying this because he has not improved a bit over last 5 years. Bro has no feedback loop at all. Often miscalculates overs, gives part-timers a chance out of nowhere, is visibly frustrated under pressure and what not. So just leave captaincy, atleast for 2-3 years and focus on your game.
That's it. This was just my analysis. Hope we win atleast the final match!