Rishabh Pant has been undergoing a rough patch of late, and the young Indian skipper was once again criticised for his shot selection, this time by former Indian opener turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar, who also revealed where it's all gone wrong for Pant.
Amid his recent slump, the southpaw has failed to score a single big total for a while, and he has been repeatedly falling in the same trap, which in Gavaskar's opinion isn't a 'good sign'.
In the past, Pant has been criticised for often gifting his wicket away due to erratic shot selection, but now that he's one of the senior members of the side, with him captaining the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, fans must be expecting more from the Delhi batsman.
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Pant, who has scored 740 runs in 47 T20Is at 23.12, has been getting out in an almost identical fashion while going for the big-shot wife outside the off-stump.
"He hasn't learned. He hasn't learned from his previous three dismissals, Gavaskar said while commentating on Star Sports.
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"They throw wide, and he keeps going for it. He can't throw enough muscle on that. He has got to stop looking to go aerial that far outside the off-stump.
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"There is no way he's going to get enough on it. It has gone to short-third! They all plan it, South African bowlers and Temba Bavuma just bowl wide outside the off-stump and you will get him."
Pant has scored 29, 5, 6 and 17 in the last four innings.
"10 times, he has been dismissed wide outside off-stump (in T20s in 2022). Some of them would have been called wide if he hadn't made contact with it. Because he's so far away, he has to reach out for it. He will never get enough power on it," added Gavaskar.
He continued, "To keep getting out in the same series in the same manner, for a captain of the Indian team, that's not a good sign."
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While he hasn't fired with the bat, Pant marshalled his resources well to orchestrate India's revival in the five-match series with back-to-back wins to leave the series tied at 2-2.
The series finale is scheduled to be played on Sunday, June 19 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
With inputs from PTI
