Rishabh Pant’s Balancing Act
Overbalanced. Rishabh Pant once again takes a tumble at the crease. His Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance routine begins only after the ball has left the bat. The ball is sailing over the mid-wicket boundary for six. The bat is dangling precariously from his right hand. His left hand is arching back, readying to break the inevitable fall. And there he is, a heap of pads and gloves, grinning sheepishly back at Jack Leach.
You can almost hear Nasser Hussain smile. You can hear him thinking, “How can you not love this guy?” Instead, Hussain simply says, “Overbalanced.” Somewhere in the CricViz database it has probably been logged: batsman falls. If one were to query the database for the most times a batsman has fallen while playing a shot, Pant would surely top that list.
But it’s this balancing act, between exuberance and overconfidence, innovation and technique, comedy and class, that has come to define Pant’s batting. He dances dangerously in No Man’s Land, carving a territory that is entirely his own.
Pant belongs to the first generation of Indian cricketers since the 1980s that didn’t play alongside Sachin Tendulkar. That says as much about Tendulkar’s longevity as it does about the generational shift in Indian cricket today. It takes a moment to register that Pant was 10 years old when Rohit Sharma made his debut, 11 when Virat Kohli made his. Pant grew up on Dhoni, Yuvraj, and Kohli—Indian batsmen who were aggressive, unapologetic, and wildly successful. Pant’s heroes were not afraid of pace and bounce. They thrived on it. They could hook and pull and upper cut and helicopter. They tasted success overseas. They had bowlers who could back them up. Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly would never open the bowling for their side. They were not struggling with loss aversion. Pant wasn’t used to losing. He grew up watching an Indian side that won.
You don’t have to have to be an Indian millennial to understand how significant this is (though you probably find it painfully amusing if you are). So when Pant walked out at the Gabba, he didn’t have to tell himself to believe they could win. He actually believed it. But as one of the billions who believed India had a World Cup-winning side in 2007 I can tell you, belief isn’t enough. It has to be backed by skill.
Steve Smith reflects on the final day at the Gabba and THAT knock from Rishabh Pant… #AUSvIND | @alintaenergy pic.twitter.com/XnKL7wnO9a
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 19, 2021
Pant has a technique that lends structure to his imagination. He isn’t building castles in the air. At times when he attempts to reverse-scoop James Anderson or sweep Ben stokes, you feel certain that there is no method to the madness. But there is in fact more method than madness to Pant’s batting now. He’s always known how to disarm and rattle bowlers but he often overplayed his hand. That seems to have changed.
Lately, the risks are more calculated and strategically timed. In the Edgbaston Test, he batted arguably England’s most effective bowler of the season, Matthew Potts, right out of the innings with 6 risk-free boundaries in 17 balls. Coming in at 64 for 3, his 146 off 111 balls was a masterful mix of control and aggression. His series-winning 125 not out in the last ODI at Old Trafford came in similar fashion. The first half of his maiden ODI century took 71 balls as he carefully paced his innings in a tough chase. He then converted that into a century in just 35 balls. Methodical, clever, and crafty seem to have replaced impulsive, cheeky, and reckless in the Pant lexicon.
Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant ❤️🤍#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/6BN6kRYwGU
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) July 18, 2022
He is the first Indian of his generation to cement his place in the national side, and the only one under the age of 25 to play regularly across all three formats. At a time when that is a rarity at any age, it is a real testament to both his potential and how well the team has managed him.
Shortly after India’s historic win over Australia last year, Ravi Shastri revealed that he had asked Pant to “respect the game a little more.” The advice seems to have invaded his chaotic inner world and brought a real sense of calm. He’s reading situations. He’s trusting his defence. He’s tempering his game without losing his flair. Between one-handed sixes and dancing drives, Rishabh Pant finally seems to have finally found his balance
