Former Indian cricketer, Mohammad Kaif reckons that Rishabh Pant is a free-flowing player and the Indian team needs to find a better position for the young wicket-keeper. Kaif, who was appointed Delhi Capitals assistant coach for the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise in 2019, said the team management was able to do what the Indian team hasn’t have been unable to do over the years.
Kaif revealed that he along with head coach Ricky Ponting and former mentor Sourav Ganguly decided a finisher’s role for Rishabh Pant for Delhi Capitals (DC). Kaif said Pant’s batting order was dependent on the number of overs left as they have decided to send southpaw when 10 overs are remaining regardless of the situation.
During a recent chat with Aakash Chopra on his Youtube channel, Kaif said, “Rishabh Pant is a free-flowing player. If you set a number (in the batting order) for him, you help him play with a clear mind. We decided that Pant has to face the last 10 overs, he needs to get 60 balls regardless of his batting position.”
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He further added, “India is not being able to do this properly. He is sometimes sent in at 15th over in a 50-0ver match, He is a finisher, he is an attacking batsman, He has to be given a role that suits him. The Indian team is not able to find him an ideal spot, But in the IPL, Delhi Capitals have been able to find it.”
Pant had a memorable IPL 2019 as a batsman as he scored 488 runs in 16 matches at an average of close to 40 as Delhi Capitals reached the play-offs.
Meanwhile, Kaif also reveals that Pant is an ’emotional’ person and he felt bad when he was left out of the India squad for the 2019 World Cup. Rishabh was called to England as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan who got injured during a game against Australia. Pant played 4 matches, including the semi-final which India lost.
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Talking about the same, Kaif said, “He was feeling quite low when he was not picked in the World Cup squad. He is an emotional guy. But we kept telling him ‘you’re quite young, you have already made a name for yourself’. None of us had doubted his ability. We kept telling him to keep doing his work. He is a young player. He will become a better, better player in the next 2-3 years.”
