Pant's best game is to score down the ground but he's looking to score behind: Sanjay Bangar

New Delhi, May 10 Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar pointed out that Rishabh Pant's slump in the white-ball format has been due to his urge to play behind the stumps over his strong zone - down the ground.

Pant has struggled miserably in the IPL 2025 season with only 128 runs in 11 games, including a half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter's dismal show with the bat for Lucknow Super Giants in the season often resulted in on-field frustration with his players.

Bangar noticed that Pant's dip in form is due to his shot selection, intended towards playing unconventionally behind the stumps, which led to his early dismissals in the IPL 2025.

"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.

"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 LSG's last match against the Punjab Kings, Pant came in at No. 4 following two early dismissals but managed only 18 runs off 17 balls while chasing a target of 237. LSG lost the game by 37 runs and are placed seventh on the points table with 10 points in 11 matches.

"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," the former India batter concluded.

Earlier, former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu said Pant needs to go back to the basics and work on his shot selection.

"The problem with Rishabh Pant is his shot selection. You can’t hit your way out of trouble every time. Maybe it’s the pressure of his own reputation that’s weighing him down and not allowing him to relax. It shows - his frustration is visible. As captain, he often loses his cool, that gives the opposition an edge. Look at Dhoni - calm, composed, giving nothing away. Pant needs to tune his mindset, especially around shot selection. He needs to go back to the basics," Sidhu had said on JioHotstar.

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