Rishabh Pant Has To Be A High-Impact Player : Faf Du Plessis

Lucknow Super Giants Captain Rishabh Pant heads into TATA IPL 2026 with plenty of expectation, both as a batter and as a leader. Speaking on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’, JioStar experts Faf du Plessis and Aakash Chopra analysed Pant’s game plan, shot selection, ideal batting position, and his work with Yuvraj Singh.

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’, JioStar expert Faf du Plessis analysed why Rishabh Pant’s explosive talent has not translated into T20I consistency:

“The talent that Rishabh Pant has is tremendous. You look at him playing Test cricket and you think, this guy has all the shots. When I look at his game, I feel he has too many options in his head. He feels like he can hit a six off every ball to any part of the ground. But in T20 batting, you still need a method. You need a game plan for how you go about your business. Look at all the great T20 players. You can almost have an idea of where they will score their boundaries and where they have slight weaknesses. They work their way through that. With Pant, I feel he is always on the edge. When you watch him play, you feel he can get out at any time because it is almost frantic at times. The surprising number for me is his T20 strike-rate, which is around 130. How is that possible for a guy with so many shots? Maybe it is because we watch him in Test cricket playing these extravagant, exuberant innings, taking the game on. We almost feel that should just happen in T20 cricket as well.”

On Pant’s ideal batting position:

“Looking at LSG’s 2026 auction and their strategy around who they signed, you look at that top-heavy batting line-up – Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran are the main ones alongside Pant. Pooran is maybe the only guy who can slide down. But the success Marsh and Markram had at the top of the order for LSG last season is probably something I would expect them to start with again. So, maybe there is an opportunity for Pant to bat at number three. The numbers suggest that for him to be the best player he can be, number three looks good. I see him batting at number three for LSG this season with Nicholas Pooran sliding down to number four.”

On what Pant needs to do to find consistency:

“Rishabh Pant’s stroke play is one that looks all over the place. There is some sort of method and game plan that goes into his head. He has a blueprint for how he wants to play Test cricket. The same thing applies in T20 cricket. He needs to figure out exactly what his game plan looks like to give himself the best chance. Not to be a one out of ten or two out of ten kind of player, but to be in the 60 to 70 per cent range where he can have consistency. To do that, you can’t premeditate every ball. That is too high risk. Yes, you might hit a few sixes and play a couple of good innings. But when teams bowl wide to him, he is good enough to have something else in his armoury to hit through the offside. His game plan is not one-dimensional. He can score all around the ground. For me, it is about his first six balls. When I look at him, he is almost like a highlight player. I want him to be more of a high-impact player in terms of what he can give in his numbers.”

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘IPL Today Live’, JioStar expert Aakash Chopra highlighted how Rishabh Pant sees the game differently:

“We sometimes fail to understand what Rishabh Pant brings to the table and how he sees the game unfold. In Test cricket, he had conversations with Rahul Dravid when he was the Head Coach. Rahul bhai was not very happy with Pant’s batting approach. To give credit where it’s due, Pant sees the game very differently from most of us who see it conventionally. But the most heartening thing for me is his acceptance that he needs to change something in his game. He needs to look for a blueprint. Something is not going right. He knows he is that good. The fact that he has approached Yuvraj Singh for help shows he acknowledges that he needs guidance, help and assistance. That is a great sign. With the quality, talent and skills he has, it is a travesty that he is not killing it in white-ball cricket.”

On the scrutiny Pant faces:

“The scrutiny around Rishabh Pant is justified. He is a prisoner of his own reputation for playing unorthodox shots and rarely looks to grind out runs when the situation demands it. Last season, despite opportunities to take time and rebuild his form, he continued to play risky shots, which drew criticism. Having been part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad in Barbados, he is now completely out of the conversation for the national side. The selectors and management went from selecting a middle-order keeper to an opener keeper and a keeper who can bat at three. While the IPL is massive, representing India remains the ultimate priority, and losing that spot means it’s time for him to go back to the drawing board.”