Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has backed under-fire Rishabh Pant to come good in the last two Test matches against England.
Pant hasn’t been at his best in the ongoing Test series against England and the attacking batsman hasn’t been able to contribute with the bat while batting at number six.
The level of expectations is huge from Rishabh Pant after he had a successful Test series against Australia and then also delivered against England in the home series. Pant had scored 274 runs in three Test matches he played against Australia and then scored 270 runs in four Test matches against England.
But he hasn’t been able to deliver the goods in the ongoing series as he has managed scores of 25, 37, 22, 2 and 1 in the series.
The Indian middle order hasn’t been consistent, which has put extra pressure on Rishabh Pant.
Dinesh Karthik said while talking to Times of India, “Pant has got most of his runs that way, he got tons of it in Australia and you will have to give him the time and allow him to flourish. I don’t think he needs to change anything drastically in the middle of the series. Pant knows how to deal with these conditions. He is a match-winner and I believe he will come good.”
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Deep Dasgupta feels Rishabh Pant needs to be more cautious in his shot selection. Pant has been dismissed while trying to play attacking shots when there was a need to be more cautious.
“It is important that Pant’s thought process is not jumbled up. If Pant gets going in one innings, he will probably win you the Test match… So you can take that little bit of chance with him. But saying that, Rishabh can still try to be a little careful about his shot-selection.”
Dasgupta added that Anderson and Robinson know how to make the most of their own conditions and Pant needs to be cautious in the initial stage of his innings and then he can take the attack on the opposition by playing his natural game.
“The likes of Anderson and Robinson know how to use these conditions brilliantly and get left-handers in that channel outside the off-stump bowling over the wicket. But if Pant can deal with it initially, he can always do his own jazz — coming down the track or whatever.”
