Pant has shown he can bat differently in longer formats - Dravid
The India A coach was particularly impressed with his ward's reading of match situations in the four-day games against England Lions and West Indies A
PTI
22-Jul-2018
Rishabh Pant goes after the England Lions bowlers • Getty Images
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has earned plaudits for his flamboyant batting in the shorter formats, but India A coach Rahul Dravid believes he has the "temperament and skills to bat differently" in the longer formats too.
Pant earned his maiden call-up to the Indian Test side riding on impressive knocks for India A during the recently concluded tour of the UK, where he hit crucial half-centuries in four-day games against West Indies A and England Lions.
"Rishabh has shown that he could bat differently. He has the temperament and skills to bat differently," Dravid told bcci.tv.
The former India captain was also Pant's coach during his India Under-19 days, and knows his ward's game inside out. While Pant can score runs at a brisk pace in the longer format, what has impressed Dravid is his ability to read match situations.
"He is always going to be an attacking player, but reading of the situation when one is playing red-ball cricket is required. We are glad that he has been picked in the national team and I hope he takes this maturity and builds thereon," Dravid said.
"There were three-four innings [in the UK] where he showed that he is willing to bat differently. We all know the way he [usually] bats. Even during the 2017-18 [it was 2016-17] Ranji Trophy season, when he got 900-plus runs and his strike-rate was 100-plus... and we have seen him bat similarly in IPL as well.
"On this trip, we challenged him a lot to bat according to the situation. He got a crucial 64 not out in the one-day tri-series final (against England Lions), when he was the last recognised batsman.
"And also against West Indies A, he put on a 100-run partnership with Jayant Yadav [in a successful fourth-innings run chase]."
Dravid is of the opinion that the "shadow tour" by the India A side, touring the same country as the national team is playing in, is a brilliant concept developed by BCCI as it can prove to be beneficial for the national team. It also prepares the second string players to step up in case of any emergency.
The likes of Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Krunal Pandya and Karun Nair - all of whom were drafted into the senior team at some point - got a considerable amount of game-time in UK conditions.
"It's great to have shadow tours. It may not always be possible but whenever it's possible, it's highly beneficial," Dravid said. "A lot of players have joined the national side from the [A] team. It also let Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane come down and spend time with us and play a practice game that was competitive and tough.
"Having the India A team tour before the national side [gets into action] opens up many possibilities in terms of preparation for both the sides. It also serves as motivation for many players for they know when they do well on A tours, they will be picked in the national team."