IPL 2019: You can't curtail natural instincts of a player like Pant, says Praveen Amre

Rishabh Pant turned out to be Delhi's leading run-scorer with 488 runs in 16 games at 37.53 and one of his match-winning knocks came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator

Rishabh Pant often cops flak for not being able to take his team past the finishing line but Delhi Capitals scouting head Pravin Amre feels the criticism is uncalled for as ‘you cannot curtail the natural instincts of a special player like him’. After Delhi's successful IPL campaign which saw them reach the play-offs for the first time since 2012, Amre spoke to PTI about what worked for the team this season. Talking about Pant first, Amre said the young keeper-batsman took the disappointment of not making India's World Cup squad on the chin. In the end, he was the team's leading run-scorer with 488 runs in 16 games at 37.53 and one of his match-winning knocks came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the eliminator, where he took the team on the cusp of a famous win before getting out. “I saw Rishabh three years ago (when he joined Delhi) and when I see him now, I feel a lot of good has happened to him. He has got that X-factor and he can win games singlehandedly on his day,” Amre said “If you talking about his finishing skills, he himself is aware (that he needs to finish games more often). When you are a match winner you have take on the opposition in this format. You can't play safe cricket, you have to take risks. With these type of players, you really have to mould them properly. You can't tinker with their natural game. They play on instincts.” Pant played a crucial role alongside skipper Shreyas Iyer and South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada in taking the team to the play-offs. On Delhi's performance in IPL 2019, Amre said the turnaround was a result of fearless cricket displayed by the young guns. “It is a tremendous result because a lot of effort was put in by the management led by Ricky and Sourav in guiding this young team. Finally, we were able to give a positive result to the Delhi fans who remained loyal all these years. I would call it a total turnaround,” said Amre. Delhi lost to Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 in Visakhapatnam on Friday, ending their impressive run.