Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has lashed out Rishabh Pant over his disappointing batting form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign. Pant, who was bought by the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for Rs 27 crore, has scored just 110 runs in 11 matches so far this season. On Sunday, Pant scored a two-ball four, getting out after playing a reverse sweep during his LSG’s 216 run chase against the Mumbai Indians (MI). While speaking on Cricbuzz, Pollock blasted Pant for throwing away his wicket by playing an irresponsible shot.
“He got to the crease, he picked up a boundary off the very first ball. He almost bought himself 10 balls, where he could just knock it around, pick up the singles get a feel of the surface, and then look to cash in. But, they will tell you, “Oh, that is my natural game”, to pull out the reverse sweep,” said Pollock.
Pollock also compared Pant’s batting credentials to RCB all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who on the contorary guided his team to a crucial after being promoted up the order. Pollock pointed out Krunal doesn’t have the same batting ability, but read the situation and constructed his innings accordingly.
“Now we watch that game, where you see him do that, and then you watch Krunal Pandya, who has got nowhere near the ability that Pant has got, nowhere near the experience he has got, walked in a similar situation, he managed to get himself in and then he made them pay later. So, I don’t know how we explain Pant’s shot selection. In his mind, he must have felt that there was a shot on offer,” he added.
During the match against MI, Pant was fined Rs 24 lakh under Article 2.22 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences.
The other members of the Lucknow Super Giants Playing XI for this match, including the Impact Player, will be fined either Rs 6 lakh or 25 per cent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser, the IPL informed in a release on Sunday.
(With IANS Inputs)
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