Don’t Think Rishabh Pant’s Price Tag Has Anything To Do With His Gorm, Says Bharat Arun

Mumbai: A hefty price tag has not got anything to do with Rishabh Pant’s form with the bat and Lucknow Super Giants’ skipper is just one innings away from hitting top gear, said bowling coach Bharat Arun here on Sunday.Pant was roped in by LSG for a whopping Rs 27 crores in the mega auction ahead of last year’s IPL, but the India wicketkeeper-batter has had an ordinary run with the bat since joining the franchise.LSG finished seventh in Pant’s first season at the helm with the left-hander making 269 runs in 14 matches at strike rate of 127.50 with one century and a fifty. This year, LSG are languishing at the bottom of the points table with only two wins in eight matches so far in which Pant has contributed with 189 runs at a strike rate of 126.84 with one half-century.”I don’t think the price tag has got to do anything with it,” Arun replied when asked about Pant’s struggles for the last two years.”It’s just a question of, if you really look at his batting throughout and if you look at the second game that we played, he took us through the (finish) line.”I wouldn’t be too concerned about his form. It’s just a question of (him being) one innings away from getting back his form,” Arun told reporters before LSG’s training session here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.The former India bowling coach said every remaining game in the group stage of the IPL will be a knockout game for LSG.”There is light at the end of the tunnel. For us, we have no other way to go. Every game is a knockout for us right from here,” Arun said.”I don’t think reading too much into data would really help. It’s just that how we perform and how we focus on the things that we are confident about matters the most,” he added.Arun said the LSG coaching staff has worked hard to keep Mohsin Khan fit during the off-season and the left-arm pacer is reaping the rewards for it.”Injuries are an inherent part of a fast bowler’s career. You can probably delay the onset of injuries. But every bowler can get injured,” he said.”We have had camps two and a half months prior to this and our strength and training coach and the physios have really worked on him at least three months in advance for him to come back and remain in peak form. The kind of work he put into his fitness is reaping rewards right now.”Arun reiterated that Mayank Yadav is fully fit and bowling fast but the call on selection will be taken by the team management.”That’s for the team management to decide. But if you ask me if he’s fit, I would say yes, he’s fit and ready to go right now. He’s bowling quick and he’s back to his old ways where he started,” Arun said.Arun said India pacer Mohammed Shami is making people wonder why he is not in the national side.”Shami’s mindset is very, very clear. On numerous occasions, he (has) said, ‘selection is not in my hands but to do well is in my hands’. That’s exactly what he’s doing,” Arun said.”If you look at the form in which he’s bowling, everybody now is talking ‘why is Shami not in the national team?’ I think it’s totally up to him. He enjoys his bowling (and) that is what he says.”Rohit Sharma continues with fitness drillsMumbai Indians were not scheduled to train on Sunday after their game against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk the previous night, but former captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Mahela Jayawardene turned up at the team’s home ground.On a comeback trail, Rohit began with light warm-ups along with two members of the support staff in tow and did some light running before having a short stint in the nets with the bat.



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