Rishabh Pant Has To Improve Fitness, Rohit Sharma Too Isn't Very Fit: Ex-Pakistan Spinner

Pakistan's former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria suggested that both Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli should learn from Virat Kohli and improve their fitness level.

Danish Kaneria said Pant's shot selection was not correct due to lack of fitness.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: Wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, who was the stand-in skipper in the T20I series that ended in a 2-2 draw between India and South Africa, has come under scanner for his average performance. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper scored just 29, 5, 6 and 17 runs in the four T20 games of Ind-SA series.

 

In all his four innings, Pant was dismissed after playing the same type of shot. Ex-India skipper Sunil Gavaskar had expressed disappointment with the manner of Pant's dismissal and said the youngster did not learn from his past mistakes. After Gavaskar, now former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has raised questions on Pant's fitness.

 

Kaneria said Pant's shot selection was not correct due to lack of fitness. He further said that apart from Pant, the fitness of captain Rohit Sharma is also not up to the mark. The former leg-spinner suggested that both the batsmen should learn from Virat Kohli and improve their fitness level.

 

Kaneria said on his official YouTube channel, "Rishabh Pant's fitness is not up to the mark and is very low. I would say it's rather mediocre. There was a massive change in terms of the team's fitness standards when Kohli took over the captaincy. But Pant is lagging behind when compared to others."

 

"Although Rohit Sharma too isn't very fit, he is a batter, and it is fine for him. But Pant has to improve his fitness as he is a wicketkeeper. Even at this young age, we've seen how he hasn't been able to crouch properly while keeping in recent games. This is due to his weight issues. It has an effect on his flexibility too. He plays with an approach of hitting the bowlers right from the onset. Mental toughness and maturity will also only come with fitness," he explained

 

Kaneria gave the example of Dinesh Karthik, who has made a comeback to the national team after displaying remarkable finishing abilities in IPL 2022, batting at a strike rate of around 200.  

 

"When you see Dinesh Karthik, he is super fit even at this age. We've seen that in his batting as well as wicketkeeping. Pant may have scored 70-odd in the warmup game, but he hasn't been consistent and his graph is going down. He will have to fight for his place in the team as there are other options like Dinesh Karthik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson," he further said.