Leave Rishabh Pant alone, he’s only a 21-year-old after all

In June 2019, India embarked on their sojourn to reclaim the World Cup crown they’d won in 2011. The second game of their campaign saw them lock horns with defending champions, Australia and they swatted them aside with the most assured of displays. However, that came at a cost.

The Men in Blue’s hero from the contest, Shikhar Dhawan, injured his hand while batting, meaning that the left-hander was subsequently ruled out of the tournament. A few days later, the Indians called up Rishabh Pant, another dazzling Delhi left-hander as they hoped to inject their batting line-up with more firepower.

At that juncture, several rejoiced at the youngster’s inclusion, especially considering most had gotten tired of India’s circumspect approach in the middle phases.

Yet, a fortnight down the line, that very aspect Pant was expected to provide: the glitz, the glamour and sometimes, the glory, proved to be his kryptonite in a tense and titanic semi-final against New Zealand.

The game in question has etched itself into cricketing folklore as the match where MS Dhoni, the world’s greatest finisher, fell agonizingly short of his ground. However, the performance of a fellow wicket-keeper, namely Pant, irked the Indian supporters as much as the team’s display on that gloomy afternoon in Manchester.

After settling into a partnership with Hardik Pandya, the lad from Delhi, akin to his flamboyant characteristics, tried to launch Mitchell Santner into oblivion. Unfortunately, though, all he managed was an extremely tame attempt which nestled into the palms of Colin de Grandhomme.

Hence, in a trice, the excitement and positive furore that had surrounded his arrival in England had turned into moans and groans of frustration.

Pant came in for criticism for his batting methods at the World Cup

Months later, on a similarly tricky track in Bengaluru, the wicket-keeper found himself in the eye of the storm. The Indians had gotten off to a good start but the dismissals of Dhawan and Virat Kohli in quick succession had cast Pant as the protagonist of the innings.

The Delhi Capitals batsman went about his business quietly, albeit initially. He meandered his way to 12 off 17 balls before the customary unorthodox but equally magnificent rabbit was pulled out his hat.

The wicket-keeper went down on one knee and paddled Dwaine Pretorius over fine-leg for six. Consequently, Pant looked en route to breaking the shackles and indulging in pyrotechnics.

Yet, he came unstuck an over later, when Bjorn Fortuin, another left-arm spinner, got him out as the former swiped agriculturally at a delivery outside the off-stump.

And, in an instant, the much-documented line between being careless and being fearless was tread upon, again.

Before the series started, Ravi Shastri was quick to immerse himself in comments about Pant, where the coach talked about 'giving the wicket-keeper a rap on the knuckles' and encouraging him to be a little more judicious with his shot selection.

Ravi Shastri recently said that there would be rap on the knuckles for Pant

However, the facet fundamentally wrong with those discussions was that it was made in public, in front of billions of eyes and ears. Such conversations should surely happen within the confines of the dressing room, shouldn’t they?

Moreover, the matter gets magnified when talking about a precocious talent, who the Indians have long earmarked as their keeper across all formats. At 21 years of age, Pant has already endured an alarmingly high number of trials and tribulations of international cricket. And, a public dressing down would’ve been the last thing he would’ve cherished.

Apart from that though, the point about the wicket-keeper being fearless and yet not careless needs slightly more introspection.

In a country like India, where each move a cricketer makes is exponentially put under the scanner, the breed of maverick batsmen and more specifically, those capable of flashes of genius and the odd moments of exasperation, have never found it easy to establish themselves completely.

The only exception that quickly gushes to mind is that of Virender Sehwag, who also went through a rough phase, wherein his cavalier approach came in for criticism.

However, despite the advent of T20 cricket and its subsequent encompassing of an entire generation, India is still sceptical of someone who at times, might just frustrate.

To put things into further perspective, one needs to look at Jason Roy’s example. The Englishman came into the national side on the back of the Three Lions’ woeful 2015 World Cup. Immediately, he captured the cricketing circuit’s imagination with his extraordinary array of strokes.

Inevitably though, he too encountered a sticky period, in particular, the 2017 Champions Trophy, where he looked woefully out of sorts. But, England, rather than thrusting him into the deep end, took him out of the firing line, without asking him to curb his natural instincts.

A year or so after that debacle, Roy set his place at the top of the order in stone and ultimately, proved to be one of the most vital cogs of the English World Cup-winning wheel.

Additionally, India would do well to not envision Pant as the next Dhoni. The latter has served the nation in superlative fashion, while performing the role of the anchor, master tactician, middle-order accumulator and slog-overs dasher, all by himself.

However, expecting Pant to replicate all of that would be a little too naïve. The wicket-keeper from Delhi boasts a unique USP and he must be encouraged to live by it and on occasions, die by it.

Yet, in no circumstance, shall he be forced to become something that might just be a shade distant from his forte.

Pant has failed to live up to his billing so far

Also, international cricket is largely unforgiving, whether it be the competition it entails or the pressure one has to tackle. But, one mustn’t forget that cricket, after all, is a game of impressive imperfections, where not even a handful can claim to be rid of all ailments.

And, in such a sport played by humans, each cricketer has its own idea and mantra of achieving excellence. While some relish situations where push comes to shove, others require a bit more care, an arm around the shoulder and above all, a sense of belonging.

Pant, in all likelihood, falls into the latter category and thus, he might just need a tad more time, a stint much longer than what several would’ve envisaged.

Yet, it is important that the fan base, the media and most tellingly, the team management accept those points and take it in its stride.

So far, in his nascent career, the wicket-keeper has felt both edges of the deity-like status cricketers enjoy in India. While his rise to stardom was a lot swifter than some of his peers, the veils of discontent have been as loud as any this decade.

Though the audience, its expectations and its judgements are part and parcel of any publicised sport, it certainly can’t be allowed to get the wood over someone as talented as Pant.

At the moment, not many in Indian cricket have been able to divide opinion as much as the wicket-keeper. But, then again, aren’t those players with a perceived ‘X-Factor’ supposed to be glorified and scrutinised on a much larger scale than the others?

And, while there will always exist a temptation to look at the wicket-keeper through numerous lenses devised over the years, one might just be better off deriving something completely different, especially for a special player of the ilk of Pant.

And, till such a lens comes to fruition, it would be best for all parties to leave Rishabh Pant alone.

After all, despite everything that he has gone through, he is still only 21, isn’t he?

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