There have been lot of discussions over how I need to play shots as per match situations: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has said that there are plenty of discussions that go on inside the dressing room and management regarding his shot selection but all are carried out with a view of improving an individual. Pant drew severe flak from all quarters recently when he lost his wicket during the Johannesburg Test to a reckless, wild heave off Kagiso Rabada moments after being riled up by his opponents, leading to questions on both his temperament and technique.

Although then-captain Virat Kohli and coach Rahul Dravid backed the southpaw over his style of cricket and his match-winning abilities, it was not the first time when questions over Pant’s brand of cricket were raised. However, he responded sensationally in Cape Town in the third and final Test, when he scored an attacking 100 off 139 on a challenging track with seam movement and variable bounce when the second-highest score was Kohli’s toilsome 29.

Mere days after that masterclass in a losing cause, Pant constructed another stroke-filled, aggressive 85-run knock at Paarl’s Boland Park in the second ODI.

The reason to bat at number four was maintaining left-right combination

“There are always positive talks that as an individual what I can do. All the strokes are there but how can I play with patience and according to the situation. So, a lot of discussions happen,” Pant told reporters on the eve of the third and final ODI in Cape Town. “And whatever we discuss, we practise and after that try to implement in the match.”

Pant’s ODI best of 85 on Friday (January 21) easily made him a batting stand-out on the day, and he made the promotion at No.4 appear a correct call. When asked about the reason behind that shuffle, he said: “The reason to bat at number four was if a left-hander gets a chance to bat in the middle, then it becomes easy to rotate the strike, with the left-right combination, especially in the middle overs when leg-spinners or left-arm spinners bowl.

“…so that is why the team management felt that a left-handed batter should bat and that is why that role was given to me.”

Shardul Thakur, Venkatesh Iyer big positives for India; Bhuvneshwar’s form no concern 

While India have conceded a series many considered theirs to lose, Pant did not hesitate from naming a few positives.

“The way Shardul (Thakur) batted down the order, in both the matches, that was also a positive. The way Venky (Venkatesh Iyer) bowled, he conceded more runs in one or two overs, but still, it felt that he could bowl (at this level). So, there are a lot of positives, which we can take as a team.”

And while he did admit that South African spinners have performed better than Indian spinners, he brushed aside the concerns around senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s form – he has returns of 0/64 and 0/67 in the series hitherto. “I think they (SA spinners) were more consistent in their lines and lengths and they are used to playing in these conditions,” Pant said.

“As a team, we are always looking to improve and I don’t think there is much concern about Bhuvi bhai’s form. Obviously, we are playing an ODI after a long time so we are just getting used to the momentum, obviously disappointed after losing the series but at the same time we are looking at ways to learn from our mistakes.”