As India battled desperately on the shores of Centurion with the mighty lions in the latter’s den, there were displays of exultations and morbidity simultaneously. Like the way Pujara and Rahane got their form back, similarly, questions were raised about India’s faltering middle-order and the ever-dwindling Rishabh Pant.
One of the most glaring questions that have been doing vehement rounds in the Indian echelons is the utility of Rishabh Pant in the batting order. The stout wicket-keeping batter pulled off heroics in the hostile fortresses of Sydney and Gabba last year that established him in the fabric of Indian cricket in a blazing livery. He did a notch better against England back home. However, ever since then, he has nosedived into a limbo from which there seems to be no escape.
Rishabh Pant was one of the most promising stars in the sky of Indian cricket that was supposed to lead the nation in the offing. However, his overt aggression has proven to be his downfall time and time again.
Whom do we blame for this? Is it the IPL or Pant’s obduracy to adjust himself to the situation? Most likely, it will be the latter. With the advent of T20 cricket, the legends of the sport have adjusted their tempo accordingly to suit the needs of the game.
However, for Rishabh Pant, it has always been mindless aggression. There are times when offence turns out into the best defence. But for one to rack up that stature, there needs to be an initial adjustment. The way he got out in the second innings at the Centurion was simply idiocy of the finest order.
Rishabh Pant was just playing his third ball and he fancied taking out Kagiso Rabada when India has just lost their top two batters of the innings. Even in the first innings, he displayed needless aggression that got him dismissed against Marco Jansen.
Is there desperation in him to copy Virender Sehwag in close lockstep? Maybe. However, the Sultan of Multan was altogether forged of a different metal. Even Sehwag toned down his aggression when India needed him to bat accordingly. Pant, hasn’t shown that maturity.
There is a thin line of demarcation between fearlessness and mindlessness. Sadly, for Rishabh Pant, the latter seems to be much more predominant. With Rahul Dravid at the helm of affairs and Wriddhimaan Saha on the sideline, Pant will have to arrest his decline if he wants to continue being in the longest format side for India.
Saha is an electrifying keeper but Pant is preferred over him due to his batting. If that dries up, things will be worse for the southpaw in the forthcoming times. Maybe, no one is asking him to replicate his success at the Gabba and the Sydney but it is important that the youngster either pumps out a decent knock at his own tempo or he slows himself down and dances to the tone in motion.
If aggression was the only criterion to be a part of the Test team, India still has someone even better on their minds and that is Ishan Kishan. Given Pant’s expertise in the foreign lands and his previously proven batting flair, it will be expected of the Capitals skipper to get himself back in the groove before India faces an unwanted question.
