Young batsman Rishabh Pant has every shot in the book and it’s difficult to contain him when he gets going, says star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.
The Afghan spinner had faced Pant in an U-19 tri-series in 2015 ahead of U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2016.
“He hit three sixes in a row and in the fourth ball he mis-timed but only to be dropped at short midwicket. Our bowler looked helpless and put his hands on his head, yelling in Pashto, ‘now what do I do get him out?’” Khan recalled the incident in an Instagram chat with Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal.
Despite getting many chances, the Delhi left-hander still has not been able to cement his place since MS Dhoni sidelined himself post the 2019 World Cup semifinal exit.
“He has every shot in the book and is one batsman who is very tough to bowl to. I remember bowling to him at a ground in Kolkata in the U-19 Triseries,” Rashid said.
Talking about the art of bowling, Khan said the key to tackle the big-hitting batsmen, like the Caribbean, is to confuse them.
“Never pitch the ball up; they would clear boundaries with ease. It’s about playing them on the backfoot and confuse them with the wrong one and leg spin. I always try to mix it up,” Rashid, who is known for his big-spinning googly, said.