April 15, 2025: Rishabh Pant showed glimpses of returning to form with a well-played 49-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The knock, which was a key contribution in Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) chase, was praised by many, but former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer pointed out a few areas where the LSG captain could improve, particularly his ability to rotate strike.
While Pant’s aggressive style and big shots make him a dangerous batter, Jaffer highlighted that there were times during the innings when Pant seemed to get stuck. Instead of finding gaps and rotating strike effectively, he often resorted to trying to hit big shots. Jaffer mentioned that improving his ability to rotate strike, much like Virat Kohli, could significantly benefit Pant’s game.
“I don’t know whether he looks to do that [rotate strike], but Kohli is a master at that. He gets off strike so nicely, as he can play all around. But Pant sometimes does get stuck, and that’s the issue. Then he goes for that big shot. I just feel he needs to get better at rotating strike as well,” Jaffer said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Another observation Jaffer made was Pant’s tendency to favour shots on the leg side, particularly towards square leg or cow corner, instead of looking to hit straight. Jaffer mentioned that Pant’s only straight six came towards the end of his innings, further suggesting that Pant’s game could benefit from more balanced shot selection.
“I feel he never looks to hit straight, he always looks to go towards the leg side, towards square leg, cow corner. He hit one straight six right towards the end [against CSK]. Otherwise, at the start of the innings, he was always looking to go towards the leg side, or that reverse scoop that he played,” Jaffer added.
Pant had started his innings briskly, reaching 27 off just 16 balls. However, he struggled with his strike rate in the middle overs, especially against CSK’s Noor Ahmad, where he faced 15 balls and managed to score only 8 runs, with 10 of those balls being dot balls. It was only when Pant faced the pacers, particularly Matheesha Pathirana and Khaleel Ahmed, that he regained his rhythm and reached his fifty off 42 balls. Pant tried to finish strong but was dismissed in the final over by Pathirana.
While Pant’s knock was important for LSG, Jaffer’s comments point to the need for the wicketkeeper-batter to continue evolving his game, particularly in terms of consistency and strike rotation, to become even more effective in high-pressure situations.