Captain Rishabh Pant has been doing great but batter Rishabh Pant needs to fire: Suresh Raina

Former India all-rounder Suresh Raina has heaped praises on Rishabh Pant for his captaincy skills at the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2022 and lauded the youngster’s decision-making tactics by playing Kuldeep Yadav and utilizing the best of the spinner’s experience. Kuldeep has earned the Player of the Match title not just once, but four times in the nine games so far.

Though Pant has not been able to put up a big knock in the innings so far, Raina believes that he is very close to regaining his mojo. Raina, who went unsold in the auction this year, was one of the core members of the Chennai Super Kings and was MS Dhoni’s deputy till last year. He believed that the DC skipper will soon play a big knock to shut all criticisms.

“Pant for me has been doing great as a captain. He has utilized Kuldeep Yadav very well and now he is winning matches for Delhi. But Pant – the batsman – still has to fire,” Raina spoke on the Cricket Live show on Star Sports.

Other players in the team will also have to take up the responsibility: Suresh Raina

Rishabh Pant will now be eyeing some big wins in the tournament after facing five defeats. The victories would mean that the seventh-placed DC would move upwards in the points table and will keep their playoffs hopes alive.

“He’s a big player, and with coach Ricky Ponting behind him, he’s going to click soon and a big inning is coming soon. Also, I believe DC isn’t playing like a compact unit. Other players in the team will also have to take up the responsibility and contribute,” Raina added.

The Rishabh Pant-led team will be up against the Kane Williamson-led Sunrisers Hyderabad in their upcoming encounter scheduled on Thursday (May 05) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. This would be the first time that the two teams would clash in this tournament, and it will also be interesting to see how David Warner  plays against his former team.