With so many opinions flying around, Rishabh Pant must only listen to himself
To say that Rishabh Pant has divided opinion since his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) would be an understatement. The left-handed batter has been showered with unparalleled praise when he has done well, but has also been brought crashing down to earth when things haven’t quite gone to plan.
In international cricket, too, this trend has continued. Despite establishing himself as arguably the best all-format wicket-keeper on the planet, Pant continues drawing the ire of spectators when getting out to a slightly rash stroke. The catch, though, is that he leaves them gaping in awe when he executes those shots, suggesting his bat is as double-edged a sword as any in our sport.
Those who have coached Pant or known him up close have also had their opinions on how he should bat. Ravi Shastri, who was in charge of the Indian cricket team till the 2021 T20 World Cup, once famously criticised Pant, saying that he should be ready for a "rap on the knuckles" if he continued batting in careless fashion.
That very individual, just a couple of days ago, came out saying that Pant should bat in the Andre Russell mode. And that if the ball was there to be hit, he shouldn’t think too much about it and just smack it. It could be a simple case of Shastri wanting to enjoy Pant more without the baggage of being answerable for whatever the latter does on the field. Or, it could be just that he has grown wiser with hindsight.
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The bigger, more pressing and slightly ludicrous problem is how so many people have so many opinions about the wicket-keeper. Not many have been acquainted to him in such a capacity to throw advice around. And those on social media definitely don’t have as much pedigree to tell Pant what strokes he should play and what shots he shouldn’t. But almost all of them have something to say when he is batting.
If he is anchoring the innings, people are quick to ask why he is not throwing caution to the wind. When he is adopting a more cavalier approach, the question is around the lack of responsibility. For India, he isn’t the captain but shoulders the hopes and expectations of a billion people. For the Delhi Capitals, he is the skipper and is probably the glue that hold their middle order together.
So, as far as responsibility is concerned, it isn’t really something that he will be able to compromise on. Having said that, it also seems a little odd that he is incessantly reminded of what he should’ve done, rather than being remembered for what he is doing.
Over the past couple of years, Pant, by his own admission and according to many around him, has matured significantly. The series against Australia down under in 2020-21 was a particular watershed moment where his innate talent came to the fore, and he produced the perfect mix of caution and aggression.
At the start of that rubber, though, he wasn’t a part of the playing eleven altogether. Shastri, who was coach at the time and Virat Kohli felt they would fetch greater returns with Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps. It took a 36 all-out and a different person in charge (Ajinkya Rahane instead of Kohli) for India to recall the DC skipper.
Thereafter, Pant did what he wanted to. If Nathan Lyon bowled in his arc, he danced down the track. If it was too short, he cut him to shreds. When the fast bowlers arrived, he didn’t let them settle. All of it might have felt very distant from the responsibility he was being asked to show. But it worked. And in top-level cricket, that is often what matters.
Even in the IPL, Pant has been at his best when he hasn’t overthought things. In 30 innings in IPL 2018 and 2019, he smoked 1172 runs at a strike rate of 168.88 and an average of 45.07. His numbers have considerably dropped in the past couple of seasons – something that has coincided with him being appointed DC captain. That, though, has only opened up another can of worms with all those clamouring for him to be responsible suddenly wanting him to be more belligerent.
From Pant’s perspective, he might be a little tired of all the yo-yo that goes around with respect to his batting. At his best, he is the toast of the country – a player you would proudly tell the next generation about. At his worst, he is an easy target for criticism, considering he doesn’t do thing conventionally and he even seems to challenge what constitutes textbook cricketing strokes and mindset.
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Whatever Rishabh Pant does, divides opinion
To add to all of it, there are several experts and social media warriors waiting for him to fail just so that they can tell him what will never work for him. The reality, however, is that Pant knows what makes him tick. He wouldn’t have scored those many Test runs in Australia, England and South Africa had he not been aware of it. He wouldn’t have carved open bowling attacks in the IPL if he was oblivious to what remains his strength.
From some standpoints, these criticisms or opinions are designed constructively, hoping that the wicket-keeper will gain greater clarity from it. But that only happens when these opinions are thrown around intermittently and Pant is allowed to do what he does most of the time. If anything, it is the exact opposite in his case.
If Pant decides to drink black coffee tomorrow, he will be told that coffee with some amount of milk is the way to go. If he decides to turn vegan, there will be a whole host of people arguing why it will rid him of the requisite amount of protein. If he somehow manages to walk on water, there will be people saying that he should’ve walked on fire instead. You kind of get the point, right?
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Everything Pant does, irrespective of whether it is on the field, with the bat or in press conferences, becomes a source of conversation. The wicket-keeper’s only crime is that he is so good that people are left wanting more. To the fans’ defence, Pant hasn’t quite been at his best in IPL 2022, and he will be the first to admit it too, especially as DC enter last-chance saloon in their campaign.
He should be open to advice because that opens up different avenues and leads to more introspection. However, this nit-picking shouldn’t really be what worries him. In India, everyone’s favourite past-time is to pick out what someone, according to them, should have done without even thinking if that is the best possible method for that particular person.
With so many opinions flying around, Pant must only listen to himself and what his natural instincts tell him. It may not bear fruit all the time. But it will at least keep his mind uncluttered and give him the best chance of success. That’s probably what has gotten him to this level anyway.