On The Indian Express, he advised Pant to check his guard and ensure his front foot doesn’t go across.
Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar has come up with some precious advice for Rishabh Pant to counter challenging English conditions, especially Chris Woakes. The England bowler is a master at home and will be India’s biggest threat throughout the series.
On being asked about Pant’s tendency to stand outside the crease to handle swing, Tendulkar analysed his technique. He stated that the ball can still come in and hit the stumps since the distance between the batter and the stumps has increased. On The Indian Express, he advised Pant to check his guard and ensure his front foot doesn’t go across against Woakes, who might look to swing into the left-hand batter.
“Someone like Chris Woakes is going to swing the ball into him, so you have to be careful with your guard that the front foot doesn’t go across. When he is looking for the ball to swing back in, Pant needs to stand on the middle stump or, at times, even middle-and-off. That will depend on if he is standing outside the crease – and how far at that.”
While the sample size is low, Pant has previously faced Woakes for 40 balls, scoring 14 runs while losing his wicket once. The English pacer looked in fine rhythm against India A and will get some help throughout the game. So, Indian batters must be cautious against him.
Rishabh Pant didn’t have a great Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he could score only 255 runs at an abysmal average of 28.33 in nine innings, including one fifty. His weaknesses against deliveries angled across him from over the wicket were found out. The likes of Pat Cummins exploited it brilliantly throughout the rubber.
Now the challenge is a lot different, and Pant has become one of the most senior batters in the side after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirements. He must do the heavy lifting for the team in the batting department, given the inexperience around the setup.
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He has done well in English conditions before, scoring 556 runs at an average of 32.70 in 17 outings, comprising two fifties and as many centuries. But England have pacers to stop him, given bowlers like Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse have a natural angle that takes the ball away from LHBs.
That means Pant must judge lines adeptly and ensure not nicking behind, which was a trend in Australia. The good thing that goes in his favour is that the pitches won’t be extreme and give him that extra time to adjust.
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