 "Rayudu says Pant's horrid run the result of being 'pretty stubborn'; Gilchrist 'doesn't see spark' in LSG captain")
Former India batter Ambati Rayudu has accused Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant of being “pretty stubborn” when it comes to his batting position in the team while discussing the wicketkeeper-batter’s shocking decline in form in the ongoing Indian Premier League .
Pant, who had become the most expensive player in IPL history after being bought by LSG for Rs 27 crore, has scored just 128 runs in 11 outings this season. And what has made those returns even worse is the fact that his strike rate isn’t even touching 100 at the moment, which is criminal for a batter in the slam-bang format that heavily favours batters.
“I think, at this point in time, I’m feeling very sorry for him because he’s not been changing his batting order or his approach. I think he’s being pretty stubborn about how he wants to go about things. It’s not working in his favour at the moment. It happens in this sport, to be very honest, and he is going through a very, very bad patch. It can happen to anybody.
“I just hope that he takes this learning and improves on it and doesn’t become even more stubborn, but just accept the fact that he is struggling and start doing things a little differently (and) try and get better every day. That’s all you can do,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo on Monday.
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Rayudu added that Pant’s struggles with the bat this season highlights the fact that he is better suited at the top of the order rather than in the middle.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I think more than anything it’s just the clarity of what he wants to do because Pant ideally for me is an opener in white-ball cricket, because in the middle order he has not been great. I know he loves playing in the middle but he doesn’t have the batsmanship that is required or the skill set.
“Maybe he has the skillset, but not the mindset to execute that,” the former Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings player added.
‘Don’t see the spark in him’: Gilchrist on Pant
Legendary wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, meanwhile, feels Pant has been far from his usual jovial self in the 18th IPL season, and might be the reason why he is going through his worst IPL season since making his debut for Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils) in 2016.
“Watching him, you always feel that he enjoys his cricket. We haven’t seen that this time around. Haven’t seen him smiling, laughing, being jovial, being relaxed. Maybe it is the responsibility of the captaincy, coming into a new franchise with that highest price tag over his head,” Gilchrist, who had captained Deccan Chargers to the IPL title in 2009, said on Cricbuzz.
“I don’t see him being his true personality. People may see hang on there, his batting has been too carefree. I think there is a happy balance in his stroke play and stroke selection. Don’t see the spark in him,” he added.
Pant’s price tag notwithstanding, his sharp dip in form is one of the key reasons why the Super Giants currently are languishing at the seventh spot on the points table. And the team management will be hoping the 27-year-old is able to rediscover his touch in the final stretch of the league phase for LSG to avoid missing out on the playoffs for the second time in as many seasons.
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