Former India batter Suresh Raina believes wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant possesses the required talent to replicate his stellar Test cricket form in white-ball formats, provided he plays without hesitation and navigates through mental blockages.
Pant’s Recent Struggles and Return to Delhi Capitals
Rishabh Pant’s performance in the IPL 2025 and 2026 seasons with the Lucknow Super Giants was underwhelming, prompting his return to the Delhi Capitals following this year’s tournament. The former left-handed batter, a key player in India’s 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy victories, believes that embracing a more liberated batting style could benefit Pant moving forward. This shift in approach may help him regain form as he re-establishes himself with the Capitals.
Though he’s played 31 ODIs and 76 T20Is, Pant last played both white-ball formats for India in 2024. He was an unused member of the 2025 Men’s Champions Trophy-winning Indian team, before being left out of the ODI team from the series against Afghanistan in June.
You are talking about the white ball side of things, but it’s even true in the case of IPL,” Raina said to Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel. Despite being a match-winner for India in Tests, Pant has been unable to establish himself in the white-ball setup. “He is my favourite player. I think what Rishabh has done is that he’s playing well and scoring tremendously in the Test matches. No, no, he is working hard. Dhruv Jurel is doing well; Sanju Samson is there. But Rishabh has that x-factor. What I feel and think is that he’s slowly maturing. Despite Pant’s established pedigree in the longest format of the game, his consistency in white-ball international cricket has drawn scrutiny. “I think he has done really well, as everyone knows, as far as Test matches are concerned. But why is the same not happening in T20Is or ODIs? “But sometimes a player feels a blockage, and I have seen and felt it – that I couldn’t communicate better or that I could have been much better in Test matches. So, if Rishabh tries, he can spend time with someone who can guide him in white-ball cricket.
