Vikram Rathour: 'Pant needs to sort out his game plan a little more'

India’s new batting coach, Vikram Rathour, believes that the young cricketers in the team need to have a clear game plan and must play with intent, rather than being careless.

Published : Sep 17, 2019 15:11 IST , Mohali

Vikram Rathour during a practice session in Mohali.
Vikram Rathour during a practice session in Mohali.
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Vikram Rathour during a practice session in Mohali.

India’s new batting coach, Vikram Rathour, believes that the young cricketers in the team need to have a clear game plan and must play with intent, rather than being careless.

Talking to the scribes ahead of India’s second T20I against South Africa at the PCA Stadium, Rathour said the cricketers need to focus on the mindset and come up with a proper game plan. “All the young guns need to understand that there’s a fine line between fearless cricket and careless cricket. What the team management is asking is fearless cricket -- having clear game plans and play with intent, backing your strengths. At the same time, you cannot be careless,” Rathour said on Tuesday.

READ: Time for a reality check for the cavalier Rishabh Pant

Referring to youngster, Rishabh Pant, who has drawn flak from the team’s head coach, Ravi Shastri, for his poor shot selections, Rathour saod: “Rishabh is a phenomenal player. He needs to sort out his game plan a little more and needs to bring in a little bit of discipline to his cricket.”

Recently, coach Shastri and captain Virat Kohli had said that five matches are enough to judge young talents. Rathour also admitted that the youngsters will be backed to the hilt by the team management.

“They have said five matches, but they aren’t referring to a specific number. What they are trying to say is that you need to take your opportunities well when you get them. They have played so much of cricket. They have come here after playing so well. I don’t think that’s a massive issue. The team management will be supporting them. They are tremendous cricketers -- all of them,” he said.

Though he admits that these are extremely early days for him, Rathour also feels that seasoned campaigners like Rohit Sharma will be effective in all the formats of the game.

“He is too a good player to be not playing in any team. That’s what everybody is thinking. He has done so well as an opener in white ball cricket, so don’t see any reason why he can’t do well in red ball cricket as well, provided we provide him enough opportunities,” he said.

In the West Indies series, Rohit had to warm the bench despite being in the squad. “If he gets his game plan right, he can be a phenomenal player. If he comes good, it will be a huge asset for the team. Somebody of his experience, the kind of cricket he plays -- if he plays at the top of the order, it will be a huge thing,” Rathour added.

“We are fortunate to have so many all-rounders in this T20 team. Most of them can bat. In the past, we did not take T20s seriously but now we are preparing for the World Cup. These 20-21 games are very important.

“By batting deep, we can go harder in the beginning and we will be trying different things in the coming series and see what works for us,” said the former India opener and selector.

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