Former India batsman and Delhi Capitals assistant coach Mohammad Kaif has said Rishabh Pant is a free-flowing player and Team India is unable to find the right role for the young wicketkeeper-batsman at the international level.
Kaif, who was appointed Delhi Capitals assistant coach for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, said the franchise was able to do what Team India have been unable to do over the years.
Kaif said he along with head coach Ricky Ponting and former mentor Sourav Ganguly decided that Rishabh Pant would play the finisher’s role for Delhi Capitals. Kaif said Pant’s batting order did not depend on the wickets but they wanted him to play the last 10 overs regardless of the situation.
“Rishabh Pant is a free-flowing player. If you set a number (in the batting order) for him, if you tell him you have these many overs and you have to do this, you help him play with a clear mind,” Kaif told Aakash Chopra in his YouTube show Aakashvani.
“In whatever discussions I had with Ganguly and Ponting, we decided that Pant has to face the last 10 overs, he needs to get 60 balls regardless of his batting position. The wickets don’t decide his position but it’s based on the number of overs left.
“India is not being able to do this properly. He is sometimes sent in at 15th over in a 50-0ver match,
“He is a finisher, he is an attacking batsman, He has to be given a role that suits him.
Pant had a productive IPL 2019 season as he scored 488 runs in 16 matches at an average of close to 40 as Delhi Capitals reached the play-offs.
