"We used to make sure that no one stands at square leg" - Kaif reveals fascinating tale about Rishabh Pant's one-handed sixes
Former Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has revealed that Rishabh Pant loses his bat in the nets as well while attempting sixes over the midwicket region. He added that the bat often flies to square leg due to the grip of his bat.
Pant has hit quite a few one-handed sixes in both international cricket and the IPL, a stroke that has become a subject of fascination among fans. Spilling some beans, Kaif told Sportskeeda while speaking on the special show SK Tales that the left-hander practices the same in the nets as well.
Kaif, who was with DC as an assistant coach from 2019 to 2021, revealed:
“His grip is such that he hits one-handed sixes, which we have seen him do during matches. This happens in the nets as well. When he tries to hit shots towards midwicket, he loses his bat and it goes towards square leg.”
Pointing out that the square leg became an inadvertent target when the DC captain was attempting his one-handed sixes, Kaif added that they used to make sure no one fielded at the position when the southpaw batted in the nets. He added:
“If he is batting in the nets, the fielder at square leg ends up becoming a target. So players should not stand there. Nowadays, there are open nets because it gives players a feel of playing a match. Rishabh Pant also likes open nets. But, we used to make sure that no one stands at square leg when he was practicing. We used to move to the off-side, knowing he would play fewer strokes over there. But he used to mostly hit sixes during practice as well.”
The 24-year-old has scored 1 and 43 in DC’s two matches in IPL 2022 so far. They are taking on Lucknow in their third match on Thursday.
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“I like him a lot because of the way he plays” – Mohammad Kaif on Rishabh Pant
Praising the Delhi captain, Kaif said that he likes the batter because of the aggressive manner in which he plays and also predicted a bright future for the youngster. He stated:
“I worked with Rishabh Pant for quite a few years and he is an interesting character. When I was working with DC, we were in a bubble so I got to spend a lot of time with him. Pant is one of my favorite players. I like him a lot because of the way he plays. He is also captaining very well. He has a very bright future and he is going to make a big name for himself as an Indian cricketer.”
Ravi Bishnoi picks up his second wicket and Rovman Powell is bowled for 3 runs.
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Delhi lost the toss and were sent into bat by Lucknow in Match 15 of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. Opener Prithvi Shaw hammered 61 off 34 to get the IPL team off to a blazing start. However, David Warner (4) and Rovman Powell (3) fell cheaply as DC stumbled to 80 for 3 in 12 overs.