Criticism of Rishabh Pant unfair

One of the key talking points of the second Test following India’s defeat to South Africa was Rishabh Pant’s dismissal on the third day. From the legendary Sunil Gavaskar letting it rip during commentary to former opening batsman Gautam Gambhir admonishing him during the day’s analysis to many fans expressing their displeasure on social media, Pant’s wicket was deeply dissected.

While every time Pant plays a rash shot early on in his innings, the critics train their guns on the dashing young batter despite him having played some stellar match-winning knocks over the last year with similar attacking methodology, this time the outcry was fairly legit.

Also Read | Dravid hints at 'conversations' with Pant over timing of his shots

When Pant walked in to bat, India were in a spot at 163/4 and just 136 runs ahead. Kagiso Rabada was in the middle of a fiery spell and the South African pacer, following a pep talk from his captain Dean Elgar after the Proteas fumbled in the opening hour, was charged up to get his side back into the contest. The pacer had just evicted the well-set duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and had his eyes trained on Pant.

Rabada, who shares the dressing room with Pant as part of IPL franchise the Delhi Capitals, knows what it takes to rile up the left-hander. He hurled a vicious short ball that rose sharply and hit Pant flush on the gloves. Pant briefly received some treatment and during that time the old devil inside him resurfaced.

Rabada, one of the smartest bowlers in world cricket, sensed Pant would dance down the next ball and throw the kitchen sink at him. Pant did exactly that and Rabada pulled back the length of the ball and darted it across with pace. To Pant’s agony, the ball didn’t go racing to the boundary but caught his edge and safely into the hands of wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. Pant trudged back disappointed after a three-ball duck, again triggering the debate about whether he has the aptitude to grind it out in Test cricket when the battle can be nasty.

So did Pant deserve the criticism for playing a poor shot? Yes, he does, but to be fair to him he has shown a remarkable change in attitude since the start of last year. He has rarely allowed his ego to get the better of him at the start of his innings and has repeatedly dropped anchor when the situation warranted it. Only when he had carried the team to safety or after having got a measure of things, has he opened his shoulders.

Sydney (97, 118b), Brisbane (89 n.o., 138b), Chennai twice (91 off 88b; 58 n.o. off 77b), Ahmedabad (101, 118b), Southampton (41, 88b), Lord’s (37, 58b) and The Oval (50, 106b), the 24-year-old Pant has displayed remarkable maturity for a batter of his age over the last 12 months.

Such has been his brilliance with the bat since the start of 2021, not even the great Virat Kohli has managed to win the number of games for India as much as the fast-evolving Pant. For the record, Pant was India’s best batter in 2021 with 748 runs in 21 innings at a decent average of 39.36 for a position he bats. The runs have come in demanding conditions and against high-quality attacks.

What brought Pant so much success in 2021 is discipline, self-control and shot-selection. There are very few batters in world cricket who can be as destructive as Pant and change the nature of the game single-handedly. But the big booming shots came after he got his eye in. It came after he showed the necessary defensive temperament to grind out a testing phase.

Perhaps, Pant needs a talk like he got from former coach Ravi Shastri which was largely instrumental in him changing his approach. Current coach Rahul Dravid said he could be the one doing it now. “We know Rishabh plays positively and he plays in a particular manner and that has got him a little bit of success. But of course there are times when we are going to have to have some sort of level of conversations around that,” said Dravid.

“It is just little bit or may be selection of the time to play that (shot). No one is going to ever tell Rishabh not to be a positive player or not to be an aggressive player but sometimes it is just the question of picking and choosing the time to do that.”

Pant is certainly capable of it and if he does, the discussions will be about his boundaries and not dismissals.

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