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Ex-India batting coach highlights Pant’s batting struggle

Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has commented on the challenges faced by wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in adapting to white-ball cricket. Bangar’s comments come in the wake of Pant’s underwhelming performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he has struggled to meet the high expectations set upon him.
“We have to recognise that he’s still yet to totally understand the white-ball game – both formats, 50-over cricket as well as T20 cricket. A fabulous Test match batter, make no mistake about it, but here in this particular season, what I noticed is that he got out a number of times looking to play shots behind the wicket," Bangar said on Star Sports.
Bangar highlighted how Pant is at his best when he plays down the track.
"If you do look to score down the ground a lot of times, then all those other areas open up. But if you're only looking to score behind, then whatever is in front of you, you sort of are very much late and not in a great position to play. Now, you pull out the best innings of Rishabh - where has he looked to score the runs? Drives through covers, step down the track and try to hit the sightscreen or go over midwicket, square. But here he was trying to play those reverse sweeps or shots that are very fine. So as a batter, I think probably he just got caught in that confusion and forgot that his best game, or that he plays at his best, is when he's looking to score down the ground," Bangar said.
In the IPL 2025, Pant has struggled to find form, scoring just 128 runs in 10 innings. Since the start of the tournament, Pant has faced challenges in making an impact.
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