Rishabh Pant "Yet To Find His Template For White-Ball Cricket": Ex-India Star

Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim said that Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant's struggles in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the past two editions are down to him failing to find the right template in limited-overs cricket. Pant's struggles in the ongoing season continued with a three-ball duck, dismissed while going across against Nandre Burger during the clash against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Thursday. After a horrific 269-run season last year, which included just one century and one fifty, the ongoing season with LSG is shaping up to be even worse. So far, he has managed just 147 runs in seven innings at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of 132.43, with just one fifty and a best score of 68*.

With two wins and five losses this season, LSG sit in ninth spot on the table, and their qualification chances for the playoffs are quite low.

Speaking during ESPNCricinfo's 'TimeOut' programme, Saba said that despite playing plenty of domestic, IPL and international-level limited-overs cricket since 2015-16, Pant is yet to work on his template for the shorter formats.

"A modern T20 batter has to find his own template. For instance, whether it is Shreyas Iyer or Rajat Patidar, even if Rajat Patidar goes in to bat on a track like this, I am sure he has clarity in his mind that he will go and play the big shots, and he is confident of doing so," Karim said.

"Rishabh Pant's problem lies in the fact that he is yet to find his template for white-ball cricket - and not only T20s, even ODIs. In Test-match batting, for him, I think there is more transparency in his thought process and the way he prepares. Somehow, in white-ball cricket he is yet to find that," he added.

Pant rose to stardom by delivering a sensational IPL 2018 season with 684 runs in 14 innings at an average of 52.61 and a strike rate of over 173, including a century and five fifties. But despite all the hype and performances for Delhi Capitals (DC), Pant has not been able to translate his quality IPL performances into consistent success in international cricket.

In 76 T20Is across 66 innings, he has scored just 1,209 runs at an average of 23.25 and a modest strike rate of over 127, with just three fifties. In 31 ODIs, he has made 871 runs in 27 innings at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of over 106, including one century and five fifties. He last played the white-ball formats for India during the 2024 tour of Sri Lanka.

Since then, KL Rahul has solidified his position in ODIs, while Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have taken over the wicketkeeper-batter slots after a sensational T20 World Cup, with Samson winning the 'Player of the Tournament' award courtesy of three half-centuries - from the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies to the final against New Zealand - scoring 321 runs.

However, Pant has been sensational in Tests, scoring 3,476 runs in 49 matches and 86 innings at an average of 42.91 and a strike rate of 74.24, including eight centuries and 18 fifties, along with several high-impact knocks across continents and conditions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Cricket Lucknow Super Giants India Cricket Team Rishabh Pant Syed Saba Karim IPL 2026