India head coach Rahul Dravid recently said the team management would have “a level of talks” with wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant about his shot selection. Pant was sacked for a duck in India’s second innings during the loss to South Africa in the Johannesburg Test, nicking a delivery after trying to break it over extra cover. This led to serious criticism of Pant by fans and pundits. “We know that Rishabh is a positive player and he plays in a way that has brought him success. But yes, of course there are times, we will have a level of conversations with him, it’s just about the timing of that shot you know. Nobody is going to tell Rishabh not to be a positive or aggressive player. Sometimes it’s about choosing the timing to do that,” Dravid said in response to a question after the game.
When asked by a fan on his YouTube channel whether it was right for Dravid to say he would talk to Pant, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt backed the Indian head coach.
“He (Dravid) had said he would talk to Pant. Is it a good idea to do this? I think maybe he was asked a question, in response to which he said this. Had he said this without being asked, then it would have been awkward but I don’t think he would have said this without a question Someone must have asked him about Pant and he must have said ‘yes I’ll talk to him’ And this is what any coach would say said Butt.
“If you keep coming out like that, keep coming out in three or four consecutive runs and you don’t provide much output that the team suffers, the captain is going to talk to you, the coach is going to talk it’s his job (the coach) to talk to players to correct things,” he added.
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“It’s been from Pant so many times now. It’s not that he’s not a good player, or that he’s being kicked out of the team, but it’s about getting the most out of a player like him. Given the talent he has, you don’t want it to be wasted.”
Asked by another fan when Pant would “mature” as a batter, Butt replied: “He’s been playing with some of the best players in the world for a long time – with his (Test) captain (Virat) Kohli, he’s got the locker room too. shared with (MS) Dhoni, also with Rohit Sharma. So it should happen quickly. But with some individuals, sometimes it takes time. Some players take time (to mature) and others do it. very quickly. So let’s hope it happens soon, rather than never.”
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