Rest, relaxation and deep introspection can halt Pant, Rashid's downward slide in IPL

As the second week of the current edition of the Indian Premier League comes to a close, the talk of the town is focused more on the non-performance of renowned cricketers than on extraordinary performances by some. The arrival of Ashwani Kumar with a bang, by taking four wickets on his debut, the continuing string of good performances by Vignesh Puthur and the emergence of Digvesh Rathi constitute the few instances where newcomers have cornered the limelight.

Since there are many more rounds to go before the knockout stage, one can expect more fresh talent to emerge on the horizon and set the stadia alight with their fireworks.

The main talking points have been the continuing bad form of two of the tallest cricketers playing in IPL — Rishabh Pant and Rashid Khan. Pant, who was purchased by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping sum of Rs 27 crores which made him the costliest player in the history of this championship, has been in indifferent form scratching together a total of 19 runs from four completed innings’.

His strike rate is below 60 and even his work behind the stumps has not been error-free. This is a far cry from his performances during the previous editions, where he not only used to score heavily but also had a strike rate hovering around 150. The only saving grace is the decent performance of his side, which has so far won two out of the four matches, thus saving him from severe blushes in his role as a captain.

Rashid Khan is one of the most valuable players in the history of IPL. He is the highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals with 634 scalps to his credit. His record in IPL, where he has 150 wickets to his credit, at an economy rate of 6.91 shows his worth. He is also an useful performer with the bat, making useful runs in the lower order at an impressive strike rate, often in excess of 150, which shows his all round utility.

Further, he is loyal to his franchisee, for whom he has been a consistent presence since 2022, which prompted them to retain him for a price of Rs 18 crores. However, he is having a very ordinary run in this year’s IPL, taking only one wicket in the 3 matches so far, while his economy rate has plummeted to 11.20.

The bad form of Pant and Rashid Khan has been the subject matter of discussion in most cricketing circles. While bad patches are part and parcel of the careers of most sportspersons, the fact that this has struck both of them together, almost at the same time, has left many wondering at the reasons behind this coincidence. Though many factors can be put forward for this phenomenon, the basic reason is that both of them are stale and tired and badly need a break from the game to recharge their batteries.

As is very well known, Pant survived a near-fatal car accident in December 2022, which kept him out of the game for more than a year. He staged a comeback to the game only in the 2024 edition of IPL, after which he has been playing the game non stop.

IPL was followed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, where he played in all the matches. He played in the home T20 International series against Zimbabwe. There were two test series at home in 2024- against Bangladesh and New Zealand- where Pant played in all six matches. When India toured Australia in 2024-25, the side played in five tests and Pant was a part of the playing eleven in all of them. After returning from Australia, he turned out for Delhi in a Ranji trophy match. This was followed by the ICC Champions Trophy, where Pant, though a member of the side, was on the bench throughout. Immediately after returning to India, the 2025 edition of IPL commenced.

Thus, it can be seen that Pant hardly had any time to rest since his return to active cricket following the accident.

Even though Pant did not play in any of the matches in the Champions Trophy, this cannot be considered a period of rest as he had to train with the squad and perform all the duties as one of the substitutes. Further, he had to be mentally prepared to step in and play when required to by the side. Hence it has been non stop cricket for this doughty wicket keeper batsman since April 2024.

The case of Rashid Khan is also similar. In addition to turning out for Afghanistan in international cricket, where he is a regular member of the playing eleven in all three formats of the game, and for Gujarat Titans in IPL, he played as a professional for the following sides during the year that went by; MI Cape Town in SA20 T20 league in South Africa, Trent Rockets Men’s (TR-M) n Men’s Hundred in England, MI New York in Major League T20 championship at Texas.

Further, like Pant, he had also suffered an injury, though this did not require a prolonged period of absence from the game. But his calendar was so packed that he did not have any time to take a break from the game since the last edition of IPL.

Moreover, he has been playing top-grade cricket around the world since 2017, turning out for Adelaide Strikers in Big Bash League, besides donning the role of a professional in various other T20 leagues. He was the uncrowned king of T20 cricket across the world, making his mark in every league and championship that he played.

How important is rest and relaxation for top level sportspersons? The old adage “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is squarely applicable to the world of sports also. Till the 1990’s cricket used to be played as a winter sport in the Indian sub continent and as a summer game in England and Australia.

Traditionally, the cricket season in India used to begin with Moin Ud Dowla tournament in Hyderabad in August - September and end with the finals of the Ranji Trophy in March. This ensured that cricketers would get time for taking rest and recharging their batteries during the “off season” when game would hardly be played.

The occasional tours to England in summer were the only aberration to this system. Very few Indian players took part in English county cricket on a regular basis. Even those, like Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin, who went to play for one season, found that playing the game on six out of seven days in a week was not to their liking and comfort. Moreover, they also suffered loss of form following this exposure, which again had to do more with lack of rest.

It was the advent of revenue from television rights that changed this system as advertisers and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) both realised the immense potential for earning more money by conducting matches round the year.

It was towards the end of the last century that BCCI introduced One Day International (ODI) series in summer with the game being played on a day- night basis. The commencement of IPL from 2008 and its success has resulted in the summer months becoming the busiest period for cricketers in India.

It is not in doubt that playing the game round the year is beneficial for everyone connected with the game, especially for the players who stand to gain financially on this score. The flip side is the fatigue and staleness that this brings to the players.

Moreover, this leaves very little for the players to identify any chink in the technique that occasionally creeps in on account of playing the game on a continuous basis. Rishabh Pant and Rashid Khan are presently in that phase where their game is on a downward slide, which can be halted only through rest, relaxation and deep introspection.

However, their commitments to the franchisees prevent them from taking a break and going through this process. Franchisees, on their part, will be loath to let go of a player on who they invested a huge fortune, even if the performance levels are not to their expectations. They will keep hoping that the players will rediscover their touch through some magic, which seldom happens.

It is high time top level cricketers contracted by BCCI are asked to take rest compulsorily for some period every year. This will not only help them to stay fit and continue playing for more years but also help them to stay on top of their game. One should not wait for injuries or accidents to happen for international sportspersons to take a break from the sport; instead, this should be made a part of their annual calendar.