Rishabh Pant is a match-winner and should play with freedom – Shane Watson

Shane Watson wants Rishabh Pant to play with freedom in the Delhi Capitals (DC) much-awaited clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second qualifier of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Wednesday.

“My advice to Rishabh Pant is to play with freedom, have that air of arrogance and confidence that he does when he’s at his best, like he did in that last game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), those one-handed sixes,” said Watson.

“He’s absolutely crazy, the skills that he’s got, and for me, the advice would be to go out and have that confidence. Don’t allow situations, the leadership to dictate how you play. You go out and play with freedom – take the game on,” he added.

The former Aussie all-rounder called Pant a match-winner and said that he can take away any game from the rivals.

“If you feel that you can line up a bowler, then you fully commit to it and take him on – because he is a match-winner. He can take the game away from the opposition very quickly – and everyone wants to see that, the team wants to see that and him as a leader wants to see that as well,” said Watson.

“KKR really turned things around since Shubman Gill and Iyer (Venkatesh) have started opening the batting and really taking on the game. You can see a big shift from the first leg of the IPL in India to the one in the UAE,” said Watson.