Soon after Delhi wrapped up a convincing win over Andhra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy opening round, their captain Rishabh Pant walked to the centre wicket to have an open net session. While all eyes have been on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Pant knows how important this tournament is for his white-ball career, where he is currently caught in the middle of nowhere. A back-up to KL Rahul in ODIs, he will have to watch the T20 World Cup from afar, with Ishan Kishan taking the second wicketkeeper slot.
At roughly around 4.30 PM on Wednesday, Pant took guard at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence and what followed for the next hour or more was the left-hander indulging in some excellent ball-striking. Even though the rest of his teammates were enjoying a moment with Kohli in the dressing room, Pant was tonking sixes in the middle. With one of Delhi’s coaching staff hurling the white-ball with a side-arm and off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen bowling, he would try pacing his game.
One moment, he would give a mighty swing of his bat and in the next moment would dead bat a few before running down the pitch and smashing it over long-on or through the covers. He would even bring out his audacious ramps and reverse-sweeps, sending the ball to all corners of the ground, leaving the lone ball boy grasping for breath and searching for water. As he connected a couple of big hits that sailed all the way to the main ground, he would plead with the CoE staff: “Bhaiya…just one more time. Sach mei, mei udhar nahi marunge vapas (I won’t hit it there again)…” And he would hit the next one in the same direction. Watching Pant in this sort of batting mood, the staff would give up.
With shadows lengthening, Delhi’s coach Sarandeep Singh would walk in and help the ball boy and the staff to fetch balls straight down the ground. He would keep pointing to the watch, but Pant would have none of it. Last 10 balls, he would say, before Shokeen alone delivered a couple of overs. By now, banter was brewing between the off-spinner and Pant. Shokeen forced some mis-hits – all via sweeps, prompting the batsman to shout to himself, “Come on yaar, mat karo. Watch the ball, play straight.”
Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli during a training session for Delhi at the Vijay Hazare Trophy. (PHOTO: PTI)
There was desperation in the tone as well as frustration. It is one area Pant probably knows what has stopped him from flourishing in white-ball cricket. When he struggled in the IPL last season, there was a pattern where he was dismissed while trying to play behind the wicket. Although the ramps and scoops have been an asset to Pant’s range in Tests, in white-ball cricket, with different field placements, it hasn’t always worked.
“We have to recognise that he’s still yet to totally understand the white-ball game – both formats, 50-over cricket as well as T20 cricket,” former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar had said during the IPL. “You pull out the best innings of Rishabh – where has he looked to score the runs? Drives through covers, step down the track and try to hit the sightscreen or go over midwicket, square. As a batter, I think probably he just got caught in that confusion and forgot that his best game is when he’s looking to score down the ground,” Bangar had said.
It is one aspect that Pant has been trying to improve. Even during the ODIs against South Africa, he made efforts to play straight in the nets. Eight years since his ODI debut, he has just played 31 matches, with his last outing coming in August 2024. That India’s team management went in for Ruturaj Gaikwad to bat at No 4 in the ODIs against South Africa when Shreyas Iyer wasn’t available showed where Pant stands.
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With Rahul being the first-choice keeper, Pant knows he needs big scores to even be in the discussion for the upcoming New Zealand series. The Vijay Hazare Trophy provides an opportunity. In a team that is filled with right-handers, Pant has a lot to offer. At present, India are using Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja as left-handed options. While Rahul is definitely indispensable at this stage for the World Cup in South Africa, Pant’s X-factor will be needed. A left-hander, floater, a 360-degree batsman, equally marauding against pace and spin – Pant has it all. Just the runs are missing.
