Suresh Raina Backs Rishabh Pant's White-Ball Comeback

"He is my favourite player. I think what Rishabh has done is that he's playing well and scoring tremendously in the Test matches... Dhruv Jurel is doing well; Sanju Samson is there. But Rishabh has that x-factor. What I feel and think is that he's slowly maturing. You are talking about the white ball side of things, but it's even true in the case of IPL," Raina said on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel.

"I think he has done really well, as everyone knows, as far as Test matches are concerned. But why is the same not happening in T20Is or ODIs? Is he looking for something in his mind? What is it? I think he needs to figure out how to pace an innings there. In the Test matches, he used to play without any hesitation. Now if he has to hit a six there, he will hit on the very first ball," Raina noted.

The IPL numbers behind Raina's comment: Pant became the most expensive player in IPL auction history in November 2024, when Lucknow Super Giants paid Rs 27 crore for him at the mega auction, outbidding Delhi Capitals' Right-to-Match attempt at Rs 20.75 crore. After underwhelming campaigns with LSG across the 2025 and 2026 seasons, Pant was traded back to Delhi Capitals this year for a reported Rs 15 crore — roughly a Rs 12 crore pay cut from his original price — in a swap that sent spinner Kuldeep Yadav the other way to Lucknow. The scale of that drop underlines how significant the underperformance Raina is describing has actually been, in market terms.

Raina, a member of India's 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy winning squads, suggested that batting freely could help Pant. "I have seen and felt it — that I couldn't communicate better or that I could have been much better in Test matches. So, if Rishabh tries, he can spend time with someone who can guide him in white-ball cricket. He needs to be free in his style. He can achieve a lot... his time will come," he said.