Rishabh Pant's Unrecognizably Consistent and Conservative approach in IPL 2022

After taking captaincy, Rishabh Pant had a notable shift in approach. His strike-rate dropped below 130 last season, but he still managed to score a large amount of runs. This time around, Rishabh Pant is striking beyond 150, but there is still something that seems different in his approach.

Rishabh Pant has crossed 20 on eight occasions out of the last ten innings. He is batting pretty well, but is failing to get big scores. Unlike previous seasons though, Rishabh Pant isn’t looking as reckless as he once used to.

This season, he has started the innings patiently and due to a few big hits here and there, and a couple of strong cameos. His strike-rate has been decent. While he has been pretty consistent, it is clear that Rishabh Pant is still not in full flow, especially with big scores missing.

A reason for Pant’s different style could be due to the slight lack of clarity in approach. When looking at the approach of another hitter like Andre Russell, his style of blocking and then slogging when set is one with clarity. Once Russell decides to go for his shots he does not look at the bowler, and just takes on whatever comes in his slot.

With Rishabh Pant the clarity hasn’t been to similar. Once Pant gets set, he often continues to hang around and tends to be reckless at the wrong time, which has led to him getting dismissed earlier than he normally should be getting dismissed.

Earlier in his career, when Pant batted with the thought of just going for his shots he came up with a lot of memorable innings. His century against SRH in 2018 and his onslaught on Bumrah in 2019 are examples of how Pant has taken on some of the best. A similar type of onslaught is now missing with Pant choosing to bat through silently, rather than take on bowlers and go for similar types of onslaughts.

His last two innings against the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad were ones similar to his older seasons and played a huge role in improving his strike-rate this season. On both innings, he came in with a lot of intent, and rather than looking to move the round early on he went for boundaries, and had blitzing innings.

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There was a lot more clarity in those knocks and the innings showed that Pant is at his best when he is a touch reckless. With the Delhi Capitals struggling for consistency and needing to win all their games, Pant’s batting will be crucial. If he can pull of a few special innings, it will help big time as Rishabh Pant is one of those players who is capable of changing the game on his own.

Another aspect with Pant’s silent and conservative approach this season could be due to the batting line-up. The Delhi Capitals do not bat to deep with the likes of Axar Patel coming in as high as number six. With less batting prowess behind him, Rishabh Pant has taken it upon himself to guide the team and finish strong.

With a must-win situation ahead of the Capitals, his approach is going to be important. He is striking well above 150, and a big innings from him will surely help shift the momentum towards the Delhi Capitals.