Rishabh Pant‘s international career seems to be on a downward spiral. The wicket-keeper batter remains the No. 1 choice in Tests but his stocks have drastically fallen in limited-overs cricket. With India looking to build a squad for next year’s ODI World Cup, Pant is nowhere to be seen in the 50-over format. Many pundits and former cricketers feel he needs to change his approach a little, especially in white-ball cricket. However, Ravi Shastri isn’t on board. He just wants Pant to be smarter, but is against seeing him change his natural game.
During an interview with the Times of India, Shastri revealed that his message to Pant has always been about one thing, to be ‘smart’.
“I’ve never told Pant anything other than this: be smart. He has immense ability and shouldn’t change his natural game. Just remain aware of the match situation.”
Why Has Rishabh Pant’s Stocks Fallen?
The primary reason behind Pant’s declining status in white-ball cricket is his growing inconsistency and risky shot selection in crucial moments. While his aggressive, high-risk style of play has produced game-changing performances in Test matches, it has often led to soft dismissals in One Day Internationals and T20s.
In shorter formats, where building an innings requires a blend of caution and aggression, Pant has frequently struggled to strike the right balance, throwing his wicket away just when the team needed him to anchor the innings.
Additionally, intense competition within the Indian squad has put extra pressure on his spot. The rapid rise of versatile wicketkeeper-batters like KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson, who have shown greater consistency and flexibility, has made it harder for Pant to maintain a guaranteed place in the white-ball setup.
With the team management prioritising reliability and match awareness ahead of major limited-overs tournaments, Pant’s inability to adapt his game to different match situations has seen him fall out of favour.
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