Former Indian cricketer WV Raman believes Rishabh Pant must be given the license to play aggressively in the upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka. Raman also added that operating like a traditional Test batter could harm Pant’s effectiveness as well. Pant has been one of India’s biggest match-winners in Tests over the past decade. He has scored over 3,500 runs at an excellent average of 43.37 in 50 Tests as well.
Talking about Rishabh Pant’s batting approach, Raman said on IANS: “He has got to go and play the way he knows to bat, and that’s when he will be at his best. I think if he personally looks at playing more like a Test batter, or somebody where he insists that he bats like a normal Test batter, then it will be a case of him getting into a bit of a tangle.”
“Rishabh Pant must be given a free license to play the way he plays. I think he is at his best when he plays his aggressive brand of cricket. He has won a few Test matches abroad from really dire situations. So, I think Rishabh Pant deserves to be given that license,” he again stated.
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WV Raman further backed Rishabh Pant by calling out the analysis often done on Pant’s dismissal off attacking shots in Tests. He added that asking the left-hander to bat more conventionally could result in a conflict between his mind and his reflexes as well.
“It’s so easy to have the wonderful benefit of hindsight, isn’t it? But the fact of the matter is that we need to really slot and assess players based on their strengths and their limitations. If you are looking at Rishabh Pant’s strengths, as far as I am concerned, his strength is batting aggressively, going after the bowlers, getting runs quickly,” again said Raman.
“But if he were to be asked to bat defensively and in the conventional mode, then what would happen is that there will be a bit of a conflict between his mind and his trained reflexes because the mind will be telling him to try and take it easy. But his responses to a cricket ball will be faster than what his mind is telling him. So, that is not going to really help him,” WV Raman concluded.
