3 times Rishabh Pant was criticized for his recklessness in Test cricket
Few Team India batters have polarized opinion as much as Rishabh Pant. The dashing young wicketkeeper has become an integral member of the Indian side across formats but he continues to split fanbases like no other.
Batting at No. 6 in Test cricket, Pant has already played a series of eye-catching knocks. He is the only Indian keeper to have scored a Test century in both Australia and England, and has taken the country to more than one famous victory. However, the 24-year-old has often found himself in the firing line for his shot selection and thought process.
Here are three times Rishabh Pant was criticized for his recklessness in Test cricket.
#3 Christchurch Test vs New Zealand, 2020
India's tour of New Zealand in 2020 saw Rishabh Pant amass only 60 runs in four Test innings, with a highest score of 25. The second Test at Christchurch saw things come to a head as the keeper was dismissed cheaply in both innings, following which he spent a period away from the Indian team across formats and had to fight his way back in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In the second Test, India managed only 242 and 124 to lose by seven wickets. Pant contributed a woeful 12 and 4, surviving two drops and constantly flashing at balls outside the off stump. He seemed hesitant to play his natural attacking game after a series of failures playing in a similar vein and his decision to resort to an uber-defensive approach ended in abject disappointment.
Pant was slammed on social media for the carelessness with which he wafted at deliveries away from his body, not for the first time in his Test career. Fortunately, though, his career in the format has been on an upward trajectory since then.
#2 Oval Test vs England, 2021
The Oval Test of India's tour of England in 2021 holds a special place in history. Not only did India win by a whopping 157 runs but they also took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series that is yet to be completed. On a personal front, though, Rishabh Pant had a hot-and-cold game.
Pant stroked a half-century in the second innings as India put up a massive 466, but his first-innings dismissal brought about severe hue and cry. With India at 127-6, caution was the need of the hour. But Pant decided to attack Chris Woakes when he was on 9 and only managed to toe-end an ugly hoick to a fielder who was placed outside the circle for the exact shot.
Virat Kohli's men were skittled for 191 in the first innings and conceded a lead that was almost in three figures but salvaged the result thanks to an all-round performance.
#1 Johannesburg Test vs South Africa, 2022
In the latest instance of Rishabh Pant drawing the ire of critics around the world, the second Test of India's ongoing tour of South Africa saw the youngster play one of the worst shots of his Test career.
In theRassie van der Dussen appeared to rile Pant up from short leg, the southpaw thought it wise to dance down the track to an in-form Kagiso Rabada and heave across the line. The resulting edge was gleefully snapped up behind the stumps as Pant walked back for an embarrassing three-ball duck. The fact that he had scored only 17 in the first innings didn't help his case, either.
Pant has copped immense criticism over the last few days for his cheap dismissal, but it certainly isn't a situation he hasn't found himself in before. He can be backed to strike the right balance between attack and defense, and eventually return to being the match-winner we all know he can be.