Former India pacer Irfan Pathan said that Rishabh Pant might have to work hard to be in the national team if he continues to struggle with the bat for a long time. Pathan also shared that Pant is trying to hit the ball too hard while playing offside and that’s the reason he is losing his shape in the process so far in the series as well. However, being a skipper he has won his first game on Tuesday against South Africa. But, he managed to score 29, 5, and 6 so far as well.

“He has got stuck a lot, you will have to perform. As of now, you are doing the captaincy but it is possible that going forward a time might come where you might have to work hard to play in the XI,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports. “You already have Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan as wicketkeepers in the playing XI and Sanju Samson is waiting, and KL Rahul (who can keep) is a name who I will always keep in my playing XI. I feel he (Rahul) is the best cricketer. So there is a lot of competition, you cannot keep your bat quiet for too long.”

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In all his three dismissals, Rishabh Pant was dismissed while trying to play a big shot on deliveries outside off stump. And, he was caught in the offside region near the boundary in every single game as well.

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“I feel he tries to muscle the ball a lot when he plays on the offside. When you try to put the same power that you put while playing on the leg side while losing your shape, there will be problems. He is trying to hit too hard and hitting the ball in the air. Play along the ground there and hit in the air on the leg side,” Irfan Pathan concluded.