IPL 2025: Jaffer wants better 'strike rotation and shot selection' from Pant

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Former India opener Wasim Jaffer believes that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant still has to work on rotating strike and his shot selection after the wicketkeeper-batter scored a 49-ball 63 against Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow.

Pant, who was struggling with runs in previous matches, started briskly with 27 runs off his first 16 balls and slowed down considerably after that and was on 38 off 38 at one point before being dismissed by CSK pacer Matheesha Pathirana for 63 off 49 in the final over of LSG innings.

"I don't know whether he looks to do that (rotate strike). Kohli is a master at that. He gets off strike so nicely as he can play all around. But Pant sometimes does get stuck, and that's the issue. Then he goes for that big shot. I just feel he needs to get better at rotating strike as well," said Jaffer on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut.

He added that Pant should focus more on targeting the straight boundaries, whether facing spinners or fast bowlers. "I feel he never looks to hit straight. He always looks to go towards the leg side, towards the square leg, cow corner. He hit one straight six right towards the end (against CSK). Otherwise, at the start of the innings, he was always looking to go towards the leg side or play that reverse scoop that he played, but that was the only thing.

"A lot of the time, the teams stack up the fielders in that area as well. So I think he needs to access down the ground a lot more."

Former India Test batter Abhinav Mukund echoed the sentiment, pointing out Pant’s lack of flexibility against certain field settings. “It felt like that cover area was closed today for business for him and that's a bit concerning. I still feel Pant has so much to offer when he is moving around. I like him when he's proactive, accessing over cover, accessing straight. Today, he didn’t seem to find that gear.”

--IANS

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