"We used to make sure no one stands at square leg" - When Mohammad Kaif narrated an amusing story about Rishabh Pant's one-handed sixes

Team India's dynamic keeper-batter Rishabh Pant is renowned for his one-handed sixes. Irrespective of the format he is playing, the left-handed batter often comes up with hard-hitting strokes on the on-side. He sometimes loses his grip on the bat in the process, even as the ball sails over the ropes for a maximum.

While speaking on Sportskeeda's special show SK Tales back in April 2022, former Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach Mohammad Kaif revealed an interesting story about Pant's one-handed sixes. While Kaif was part of DC's coaching staff from 2019 to 2021, Pant represented the franchise from 2016 to 2024.

Kaif recalled that Pant hit one-handed sixes in the nets as well and used to lose his grip during those practice sessions too. He said:

“His grip is such that he hits one-handed sixes, which we have seen him do during matches. This happens in the nets as well. When he tries to hit shots towards midwicket, he loses his bat and it goes towards square leg.”

The former India batter added that the DC coaching staff used to make sure that no fielder was positioned at square leg when Pant was batting in the nets because of his tendency to hit one-handed sixes through the region. Kaif added:

“If he is batting in the nets, the fielder at square leg ends up becoming a target. So players should not stand there. Nowadays, there are open nets because it gives players a feel of playing a match. Rishabh Pant also likes open nets. But, we used to make sure that no one stands at square leg when he was practicing. We used to move to the off-side, knowing he would play fewer strokes over there."

Having represented the DC franchise for eight seasons, Pant moved to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for the recently concluded IPL 2025 season. He was purchased at the mega auction for a whopping ₹27 crore, making him the costliest player in the history of the T20 league.

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Rishabh Pant had a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign with the bat

Having been purchased for a massive price at the mega auction, there were high hopes from Pant heading into IPL 2025. He was even named captain of the Lucknow franchise. However, he had a highly disappointing season with the willow, scoring 269 runs in 13 innings at an average of 24.45 and a strike rate of 133.16.

The 27-year-old hammered 118* off 61 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Lucknow, smashing 11 fours and eight sixes. The knock, however, came in LSG's last league match, with the team already having been knocked out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race. Despite Pant's ton LSG lost the match by six wickets.

Edited by Renin Wilben Albert