‘He doesn’t have technique to succeed...’: Butt names India batter whose defensive mechanism ‘isn’t strong' for Tests
Salman Butt opined that Rishabh Pant has to work on his technique and temperament to play well in English conditions.
India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant isn’t having a great time in the ongoing tour of England. The youngster from Delhi hasn’t been among runs so far and has managed to score just 87 runs in five innings, at an average of 17.40. His struggle against the moving ball has been clearly visible in the last three games and former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes that Pant needs to show some patience.
Pant was in a great nick when England had toured India earlier this year. The left-hand batsman scored his first Test ton on home soil in the final game of the series. However, now in England, he is yet to score more than 37 runs in an innings.
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Speaking in his latest YouTube channel, Butt opined that Pant has to work on his technique and temperament to play well in English conditions.
“Rishabh Pant doesn’t have the technique to succeed in English conditions. He cannot just walk down the track to bowlers. He can survive for a while like this or may play one or two good knocks. But, Rishabh Pant cannot become a successful Test batsman playing this way. He needs to develop some patience and also work on his defensive technique,” Butt said.
“Pant has a lot of shots but his defensive mechanism is not strong enough for Test cricket, especially in such conditions. In India, he can taste success, and Australia as well, because the ball doesn’t swing a lot. But wherever the ball swings or seams, Rishabh Pant will find it very difficult to tackle the challenges with the kind of technique he currently possesses,” he added.
India lost the third Test at Headingley by an innings and 76 runs after going through a horrific batting collapse on the penultimate day. The visitors lost 7 wickets in a span of 54 minutes as Ollie Robinson picked up a five-fer, bundling out the visitors for 278.
Both teams will lock horns in the third Test which begins on Wednesday at the Kennington Oval, London.