Rishabh Pant's Batting Brain: Decoding the Maverick's Methods with Coach Sitanshu Kotak

Rishabh Pant, the dynamic Indian wicket-keeper batsman, is known for his aggressive approach to the game. However, there's more to his batting than meets the eye, according to India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.

At Headingley, during the fourth day of a Test match, Pant, then on a century, was distracted when his shoe came off mid-run. A water bottle and, possibly, a message from Washington Sundar followed. His attacking play seemed to falter, and he was soon dismissed, triggering a batting collapse.

Rishabh Pant celebrates his 50 in the second innings at Edgbaston © Getty

Kotak shed light on Pant's unique approach ahead of the Lord's Test. While Pant dislikes being instructed during his innings, he enjoys discussing batting strategy extensively at other times.

Pant's Pre-Match Planning

"Rishabh actually talks a lot about what he does, when he does [it], why he does [it]," Kotak revealed. "To me, he's spoken, but he's someone who doesn't like talking too much during his innings because he feels that that changes his mindset, and he takes the wrong decision. That's only when he's batting."

Kotak emphasized that Pant's success isn't accidental: "Apart from that, he talks about other batters also, about himself also, and he does [plan] what he wants to do because it's not so easy to score Test hundreds or not so easy to be successful at this level without having any planning."

The Value of Attacking Batsmen

Kotak highlighted the importance of having attacking players like Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Indian batting lineup. Their aggressive style complements the more cautious approach of other batsmen, providing a dynamic edge. This was evident at Edgbaston, where the team amassed over 1000 runs across both innings.

Kotak also spoke about mindset, "If a batter thinks there is a lot of movement in the pitch, and if there is an opportunity I have to score boundaries because there is a good ball coming [with my name on it], that is a bad mindset for red-ball cricket."

He further added, "Anyway, they possess so much skill because of white-ball cricket that they can convert anything in the slot into fours and sixes. They don't have to really think that I want to hit a boundary."

Focused on Skillful Batting

"We have batted well in both the matches," Kotak said. "I feel we have such skillful batters [who] can score at four an over without going searching for runs. What else is aggressive batting? We are scoring 360 in 90 overs. But our mindset now is to not go looking for boundaries. [And] when you don't play undue shots, then you are going to stay on the wicket for a long time," Kotak added.

Lord's Test Expectations

Following the Edgbaston Test, where the pitch favored subcontinent-style play, there's anticipation that England will seek conditions more conducive to their seam bowlers at Lord's.

Kotak addressed the potential pitch conditions: "It seems a little bit in the wicket... that there is a lot of green. But tomorrow when these people will do the final cut, after that you can speak."

Kotak added, "Generally, the normal Lord's Test, the scores of the first and second innings, are comparatively low. So you can expect that there can be more help for the bowlers. For the batsmen, the same thing, I believe that it is a mindset. Spending time on the wicket is the best friend you can have. The more time you spend on the wicket, the more you will adjust to the wicket."

Kotak concluded by discussing the challenges ahead. "It will be a challenge, Jofra coming in. There might be a couple of bowling changes in the England team, but that we don't know. And after the last two games, if as a whole, England want to give a little bit more challenging wicket, it is fair enough. And it will be a challenge for anyone on any wicket. So I am not really thinking that, oh, it will be very challenging. You bat well, it is fine. If you don't bat well, any wicket can be challenging."