Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant is not having the best Indian Premier League this season as he has not been able to fire with the bat like he is used to. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that the left-handed batter should have clarity of thought when he plays this format.

Rishabh Pant has not been at his best when it comes to his batting form in IPL 2022. The young wicket-keeper batter has not been able to make an impact with the bat like he can given his batting prowess. Pant has not been able to capitalise on the starts that he has got this season which is a reason why the Delhi Capitals are still struggling as the race towards the playoffs heats up. Pant has scored 281 runs from the 11 matches that he has featured in so far with a strike rate of 152.71.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri talked about Rishabh Pant and he is of the opinion that the young cricketer should be playing like Andre Russell in the IPL. “I feel once he gets the tempo going he shouldn’t change, he should be in the (Andre) Russell mould in this format of the game,” Ravi Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s ‘T20 Time Out’. 

“You get your eye in, you’re striking it well – don’t think too much. No matter who the bowler is, if it’s there to be smacked, smack it. Who knows, you might win more matches than people expect you to.”

Ravi Shastri feels Andre Russell’s clarity of thought makes him one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket. He feels Rishabh Pant too is capable of such knocks. “Russell is very, very clear in his mindset. It is bang-bang-bang once he’s in the mood. There’s no stopping him, there’s not even a negative thought that will peep through his system – it is (all about) smacking.

“Rishabh is totally capable of playing in that fashion, and I hope he thinks in that way because you’ll see some special innings from him in T20 cricket. He’s getting off to starts and then getting out in a manner which he wouldn’t like, but I don’t think he should change his tempo,” added Shastri.