Former Indian wicket-keeper Kiran More has backed Rishabh Pant to take more responsibility on his shoulders after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirement. Pant’s shot-selection had come under scrutiny in the Border-Gavaskar series however More backed the left-hander to play his natural game but at the same time, bat sensibly.
After two successful tours of Australia, Pant failed to deliver on the 2024-25 tour. The left-hander scored 255 runs in five Test matches against the Aussies at an average of 28.33, including only one fifty.
More said as quoted by Hindustan Times, “Failure in an odd series doesn’t make you a bad cricketer. Pant hasn’t had a good season but he is a guy who can change things anytime because of the way he bats. He is very positive, his intent is always to score runs. That is what I like about him. I feel he should bat the way he does, (but) sensibly. There’s extra responsibility on him. You don’t have a Rohit or Virat you can fall back on.”
The former selector said that Pant has already proved his mettle while playing in foreign conditions.
“He has a fantastic record on away tours. He has scored a lot of runs in England, Australia, South Africa, everywhere he has got hundreds. He bats at the crucial No.5 spot where he will face the second new ball. That experience he should put together and try to score runs.”
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer added that Pant will have a better idea of the pitch after keeping on it.
“Pant’s role will be very important… When Ajit Wadekar and Tiger Pataudi were captains, they never made a move without speaking to me because we had a very good rapport. Our eyes had to meet, when there was a bowling or fielding change because from behind the stumps you have a clear idea what the bowler is doing, what the batter’s strengths and weaknesses are, what the pitch is doing,” said Engineer (via the aforementioned source).
The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.
