Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt said that Rishabh Pant can’t become a successful Test batsman with his current technique. These comments from Butt came after England defeated India by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test at Leeds. After the third Test, the five-match series stands at 1-1. 

“Rishabh Pant doesn’t have the technique to play in these conditions. The way he keeps going down the track in every other ball, he can maybe have one good knock or two by doing that, but he won’t become a successful Test batsman playing like that,” Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel.

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Pant, who single-handedly won India two Test matches in Australia in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar trophy, has been struggling to play swing in England.

The 23-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman scored three runs over two innings in the Headingley Test. He has managed a total of 87 runs over five innings at an average of 17.4 in this series, with his highest score being 37.

Adding to his observation, Butt said that Pant needs to develop some patience as well as better defensive technique. 

“He needs to develop some patience as well as better defensive technique. He possesses different kinds of shots but his defensive mechanism in front of the ball isn’t strong enough for Test cricket, especially in these conditions.”

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India’s batting line-up collapsed for 78 runs in the first innings of the third Test. In the second innings, when they were trailing England by 432 runs, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli ensured India finished Day 3 on a high at 215/2.

However, Ollie Robinson ran through the Indian batting line-up on the fourth day as the visitors found themselves all-out for 278. Pant nicked Robinson’s away-going ball, as Craig Overton took an easy catch in the slip.

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“In India, he may find a lot of success, even in Australia, because the ball doesn’t swing a lot. But particularly in conditions where the ball swings a lot or in seaming conditions like in England or other countries, Rishabh Pant will face problems with the technique that he currently has,” Butt explained.

The England-India series will next head to The Oval, where the fourth Test will begin from Thursday.