Former India wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer has delivered a straightforward message to Rishabh Pant as the Indian team prepares for the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford. Known for his fearless and unconventional batting style, Pant has played a number of high-risk shots in the first three Tests, some of which have paid off handsomely. However, Engineer has urged Pant to reserve such risky strokes for the IPL and focus on playing a more disciplined and patient game in the longer format, especially given his crucial role batting in the top four for India.
Need for Discipline in Test Cricket
Engineer stressed that Test cricket requires a different mindset compared to limited-overs formats, emphasizing the importance of building innings and scoring big runs with responsibility.
“𝑨𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚. 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝑷𝑳. 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕, 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔,” 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒛.
He acknowledged Pant’s confidence and talent but cautioned that the young batter must exercise greater responsibility during critical phases of the match, such as just before lunch or at the end of the day’s play.
“𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔,” 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅. “𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒉𝒆’𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑰𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕.”
Pant’s Role Beyond Wicket-Keeping
Pant missed most of the third Test behind the stumps due to a finger injury, which has raised discussions about his role in the team. Engineer believes Pant has the skill set to be included in the playing XI purely as a batsman if needed, reflecting his importance in the Indian batting lineup.
As India looks to build momentum in the series, Engineer’s advice highlights the need for Pant to strike a balance between flair and prudence to help India post substantial totals and gain an advantage over England in this crucial Test series.
Also Read: Litton Das and Salman Agha Prepare for Challenges in Dhaka