'What he needs to do is introspect' - Sunil Gavaskar's advice for struggling Rishabh Pant

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar felt that skipper Rishabh Pant needs to reassess what has been going wrong with his own batting technique rather than just focussing on captaincy alone. India managed to redeem itself in the third T20I against South Africa after two continuous losses at the start of the series. While Pant’s captaincy looked a lot better in the Vizag game, however, his batting issues haven’t yet been solved.

Pant did not have the best of IPL seasons for the Delhi Capitals this year with not scoring a single half-century throughout the season and could not take his side to the playoffs as well. Although he is quite new to international captaincy, Pant’s indifferent form with the bat has become a cause of concern. He was dismissed for an 8-ball 6 in the third game, following his scores of 29 and 5 in the first two games, respectively.

What happens with the captaincy often is that you don’t think about your own game: Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar noted that Rishabh Pant is expected to provide entertainment with sixes and boundaries every time he comes to the crease, which has been one of his reasons for his disappointment with him. He explained that Pant needs to examine his own game, which tends to get forgotten during captaincy, and suggested him getting his thoughts on the batting aspect.

“People expect that he will come along and start hitting the ball for the boundaries and sixes. That is something which, because of what he has performed over the last three to four years, people have come to expect. Therefore there is the disappointment,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“But what he needs to do is introspect. What happens with the captaincy often is that you don’t think about your own game. You are thinking about the game of the others. So, you forget that there is some technical issue with your own batting or the approach issue with the batting. That is what he is going to have to sit down.”

Gavaskar added that Pant has got two days to analyse his game ahead of the fourth game on June 17, and felt that he will be slightly under less pressure after the victory in the previous game.

“He now has got two days. First and foremost, he will feel a lot better because India has won. That little bit of pressure is off. You still have to win the next two matches, but the fact that India has won will give him relief for him to think about his own batting now,” he added.