p>Mullanpur: Rishabh Pant is a maverick in the true sense of the word. This very trait has earned him plenty of success but it has also caused his downfall several times. .The are people who believe the left-hander should be left to play his natural game, while there are others who argue he has to play what the situation demands.
While it’s difficult to fault either of the arguments, only Pant can find a solution to this predicament..A testing ground for Indians .He can be exhilarating one moment and exasperating the next. A fitting example came during the Melbourne Test last year, when Sunil Gavaskar’s viral “stupid, stupid, stupid” outburst followed Rishabh Pant’s ill-fated reverse sweep dismissal. With a draw well within India’s grasp, Pant’s wicket proved costly as the match eventually slipped away from them..Head coach Gautam Gambhir doesn’t think too differently and wants Pant, who has been stripped of Test vice-captaincy, to play the situation without curbing his game. .“Look, the only responsibility is to play for India,” said Gambhir when asked about Pant being relieved of vice-captaincy. “Captaincy, vice-captaincy, all this is a by-product. When you start playing for India, you don’t think about being a vice-captain or a captain.
You think about doing good for India. So going from one to the other is a by-product and ultimately, everyone is judged on performance. Be it me, be it any support staff, be it any player, ultimately that is what international cricket is all about.”.Gambhir had made his displeasure clear during the South Africa Test series, which India lost 2-0 at home, last year when Pant got out to what can be described as avoidable shots. And he emphasised the need to read the situation. .“We will expect him (Pant) to be the way he is,” he began. “There is nothing that we will tell him that you have to curb your game but in international cricket, it is very important to play the situation.
It is important to read the situation. At that time, what kind of situation the team is in and what kind of shot to play.
But it is not that any player is told to play a completely different game than his natural game. Be it Test cricket, one-day cricket or T20 cricket, the ultimate aim is to make runs and take wickets. You can never get away from that. It is up to you how you make the runs.
But reading the situation and reading the game is much more important.”