‘He must spend more time in the middle and not just look to hit every ball’ – Kapil Dev on Rishabh Pant

‘He must spend more time in the middle and not just look to hit every ball’ – Kapil Dev on Rishabh Pant

Kapil Dev and Rishabh Pant

Former India all-rounder Kapil Dev shared his views on flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant who is currently having a dream run across formats. Pant has played several match-winning knocks for the national side in the past few months. 

The cricketer-turned-commentator is one of the best readers of the game and his views are widely respected by the members of the cricket fraternity. The 61-year-old feels that Pant needs to slow down a bit and spend more time in the middle at the challenging conditions of England.

Kapil Dev also compared Pant’s similar playing style with Rohit Sharma. He highlighted that the southpaw should not just look to hit every ball as Sharma also gets out so many times while stepping out from the crease.

“He looks a very mature cricketer now from the time he came into the side. He seems to have far more time to play his shots and obviously his range of strokes is awesome. But England will be challenging. He must spend more time in the middle and not just look to hit every ball. We used to say the same about Rohit Sharma, who had so many shots, but would step out and get out so many times,” Kapil Dev was quoted as saying by Mid Day.

‘Pant is an exciting and valuable player’: Dev

Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant

The World Cup-winning captain mentioned that Rishabh Pant is a valuable addition to the current Indian team. However, Dev urged him to be more focused on getting his eye in before launching onto bowlers with his attacking range of shots.

“Same is with Rishabh now. He is an exciting player and very valuable too. All I would tell him is to take time before unfolding his range of shots. England is different.”

Kapil Dev also expressed his love for the Test format. The former cricketer mentioned that he always looks forward to watching red-ball cricket. 

“Of course. I am a big fan of Test cricket. I love watching the full day’s play. If work keeps me away from the TV, I catch up with the highlights. I always watch as much as I can. There is nothing like Test cricket,” he concluded.

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