CHENNAI: Shortly after 9.00 PM on Tuesday, Rishabh Pant, with bat in hand, made a belated appearance. There were two legal deliveries left in the innings when the captain, who had the opportunity to send a strong message to his former employers, walked in. The score read 5/159 when he came in.
Initially carded at No. 4, the captain or the management or the captain and the team management sent Abdul Samad, David Miller and Ayush Badoni ahead of the most expensive Indian Premier League (IPL) acquisition of all time.
No, this wasn't one of those match-up decisions franchises are sometimes forced to take (if anything, Delhi Capitals, took that decision to hold back Kuldeep Yadav till the 11th over to take on Nicholas Pooran). And it wasn't like the batters in the middle didn't get out. The wicketkeeper could have walked out after 11.2 overs (removal of Pooran), after 13.2 overs (when Samad was dismissed), post Mitchell Marsh's wicket (after 14 overs).
Yet, Pant, signed for the multiple purpose of leading the franchise post KL Rahul, being the public face of the team as well as lending sufficient kick through the middle and back phase, either willingly or because of a pre-decided routine (T20 teams can have a template but are extremely fluid), didn't come out.
In fact, this isn't his first rodeo in the ongoing edition. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, Pant had an opportunity to have a dash in what proved to be a high-scoring encounter. But the skipper didn't (Lucknow, batting first, made 3/238 and won by four runs). This isn't to suggest that Pant the batter is hiding in tough situations. There was a time when he put the needs of the team front and centre as he came out to open the innings in a match against Gujarat.
But this is now a situation and needs to be watched. The IPL community is still waiting for Pant the batter to light the blue touchpaper. Across the seven innings he has batted, it's not like a pattern is repeating itself (being dismissed by high pace or left-arm wristspin) but it's a loss of form nonetheless.
In isolation, scores of 0, 15, 2, 2, DNB, 21, 63, 3 and 0 shouldn't be a cause for concern. In a two-month long tournament where batters seldom get to work out things in training sessions — the travelling can get hectic and the southpaw, as he's part of the leadership group, should make himself available for other team meetings as well — low scores are an occupational hazard. That's even before you consider the unforgiving nature of the sport where batters routinely go phases when they can't buy a run.
It's clear that his confidence isn't high at the moment. On Tuesday, off his first ball, he walked down and connected thin air. Off the second, he tried a reverse lap. The ball, slanting into him, hit the pad before upending the stumps. Even before the LED lights had stopped flashing, the 27-year-old had removed his gloves and was walking towards the dressing room like a man in a hurry to complete his day's step count.
A couple of things that should allow Pant some time is the way his team have performed and the way he has captained and backed players like Digvesh Rathi and backing the decision to snap up Shardul Thakur as a replacement for Mohsin Khan. Both the batting and bowling units have punched above their weights, a sum greater than their parts. Because the side are part of the peloton, Pant's batting has continued to escape scrutiny.
But when you are the most expensive IPL player of all time at Rs 27 crore, the spotlight will, sooner or later, find him.
His batting will also be watched from a national team perspective. In the shortest format, Sanju Samson is the default wicket-keeper post last year's World Cup. Through the middle and back-end, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh, have been the preferred picks. But with three of those four players having middling campaigns, there exists a chance for Pant to showcase his wares.
