"I would feel embarrassed to run in and bowl another ball"- Dale Steyn reveals what he would do if Rishabh Pant reverse-scooped his delivery
Dale Steyn has stated that he would fire a bouncer to Rishabh Pant's head if he ever played a reverse-scoop shot off his over's first delivery in a Test match.
The South African speedster initially joked that he would roll the ball down the pitch because he would be too embarrassed to bowl another delivery if Rishabh reverse-scooped him for a six. But Steyn added that his second delivery would definitely be a short ball.
"Is it still in the rulebook, can I roll the ball down the pitch because I would feel that embarrassed to run in and bowl another ball, but I can tell you that he would know where I am bowling the next ball, and that's gonna be a short ball. That's a 100%," Dale Steyn said in a Q & A session with ESPNCricinfo.
Rishabh Pant played two reverse-scoops during England's India tour earlier this year. First, he played that shot off James Anderson's bowling during the fourth Test of the series. Then, he reverse-scooped a delivery from Jofra Archer during the T20I series.
"It's arrogance at its best" - Dale Steyn praises Rishabh Pant's reverse-scooping skills
Dale Steyn further added that it was disrespectful for any fast bowler to see his delivery being reverse-scooped over the boundary line. Heaping praise on Rishabh Pant's skills, Steyn continued:
"That's disrespectful to do that kind of reverse scooping stuff. What he did to James Anderson to India, I doubt he will do it anywhere else in the world, but at that time, he looked red-hot and he was batting in such good form. I think he did it to Jofra Archer also. It's arrogance at its best. It is amazing."
Dale Steyn concluded by saying that Rishabh Pant is a great batsman with good eyes but he would go for Pant's head the next ball if he ever reverse-scooped him for a six.