Rishabh Pant tends to get ahead of himself: Lance Klusener

It was in India in 1996 that he had made a phenomenal international debut. His 8 for 64 at the Eden Gardens in the second of the three Tests had helped his team level the series. The former dashing all-rounder from South Africa Lance Klusener is in the scene again as the Proteas’ white-ball batting coach as they are set to take on Virat Kohli’s side in a full-fledged series starting September 15. The two teams will play in the three T20Is and as many Tests over the course of a month.

Klusener, who did the analyst’s job during the ICC World Cup a few months ago for a Pakistani channel, gave his opinion on Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and felt the talented cricketer will do well to learn from others’ mistakes rather than make his own if he aims to become more consistent in the near future.

The 21-year-old cricketer has seen an impressive run in the longer format by hitting two hundreds in England and Australia but in the limited-overs versions, he is yet to prove his mettle.

Pant, who will turn 22 next month, has an impressive 44-plus average in the longer format. But in the ODIs and T20Is, the southpaw averages are only 22.90 and 21.57, respectively, and experts and fans have felt disappointed with it. Pant is often seen as the successor to ageing MS Dhoni who has earned over the years the reputation of a finisher. Pant has lacked that edge and many a time, he has been blasted for throwing away his wicket.

“It would be hard for me to pinpoint but with a phenomenal talent like that, one always tends to get a bit ahead of himself,” Indian Express cited agencies quoted Klusener as saying. The 48-year-old, who had almost taken SA to their first World Cup final in 1999 but failed to complete the winning run because of his partner Allan Donald’s temporary brain fade, saw a bit of Pant as Delhi’s white-ball consultant last year.

He needs to give himself time

A veteran of 49 Tests and 171 ODIs, Lance Klusener felt Rishabh Pant needed to give himself time to get in and that bit of time will allow him to showcase his talent eventually. “What gets you ahead in international cricket is learning from others’ mistakes rather than making your own mistakes along the way and learning,” he said.

“I will tell you why. You can learn from your own mistakes but it will take a lot more time to realise, correct and become a better player using that process. If you look at mistakes others are making, you will learn quickly and thus improve fast,” he added.

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