Raina Backs Pant To Return To White-ball Setup, Urges Him To Play With Freedom

By Pramit Meher

**Raina to Pant: Play Free in Whiteball Cricket & Your Time Will Come** Former India star Suresh Raina has thrown his full backing behind Rishabh Pant's return to India's whiteball setup, insisting the keeper-batter has everything it takes — he just needs to shake off the mental blockages. Speaking with Aakash Chopra, Raina praised Pant's Test form but flagged the mystery behind his whiteball inconsistency: *"He is my favourite player... Rishabh has that x-factor. He's slowly maturing. But why isn't the same translating to T20Is or ODIs? Is he looking for something in his mind?"* The context matters. Despite being a genuine matchwinner in red-ball cricket, Pant hasn't featured for India in either whiteball format since 2024. He was an unused squad member of the 2025 Champions Trophy-winning team and got dropped from the ODI XI vs Afghanistan in June. **Raina's Diagnosis:** He believes Pant needs to work on pacing an innings in limited-overs cricket. In Tests, Pant bats with zero hesitation — *"if he has to hit a six, he'll do it on the very first ball."* That freedom is what he's missing in the shorter formats. *"He needs to be free in his style. He can achieve a lot. His time will come."* **Off-field note:** Pant had forgettable IPL 2025 & 2026 campaigns with Lucknow Super Giants before moving back to Delhi Capitals — so a whiteball revival would be a nice confidence boost too. As someone who studies bowling & batting workload closely, I'd add: a return to whiteballs also means managing his keep-bat workload. His injury history (that serious spinal setback) makes recovery & mental freedom just as important as technique. Fingers crossed for a strong comeback. 🏏 *Source: IANS* Source: Cricketnmore