India vs Bangladesh 2019 | Captain Rohit Sharma calls for patience over Rishabh Pant's DRS errors
Rishabh Pant was in the spotlight yet again during India’s first-ever defeat to Bangladesh in T20Is yesterday. It wasn’t Pant’s batting or his unusual way of dismissal that sparked the debate, instead, it was the Decision Review System that backfired for him this time around, not once but twice.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, skipper Rohit Sharma defended Pant, stating that the youngster was still new to the international arena and will only get better in reading crunch situations in the future. Rohit explained that the wicket-keeper has a major role to play in the DRS but its mostly a combined decision of the bowler, close-in fielders, and the keeper. He said:
“Of course, Rishabh is young and he will need time to understand… It's too soon to judge whether he can make those decisions. Plus, the bowlers as well. It's a combination when the captain is not in the right position to make that decision. When you are not in the right position [as a fielder], you have to trust your bowler and the wicket-keeper. Based on that, you have to make that decision, whichever format you play.”
Mushfiqur Rahim scored a match-winning knock of 60* to see his team through but the scenario could’ve been different had Sharma gone for reviews on successive deliveries in the ninth over of Yuzvendra Chahal. Twice, Chahal trapped Rahim in front of the wicket. There was a huge shout from the bowlers and not-so-much by the close-in fielders but Pant suggested not to review.
In Chahal’s next over, Pant convinced Rohit to go for a review thinking there was a nick off Rahim’s bat. However, the snickometer showed that there wasn’t any change in the ball’s direction. As the match progressed, Mushfiqur and Soumya Sarkar added 52 more runs and that proved as a decisive factor in the outcome of the match.
On being asked where India lost the plot while defending a small total, Rohit said that the Indian bowlers allowed the opposition batsmen to stitch together useful partnerships while failing to take wickets at regular intervals. Rohit stated,
"It was a good, fighting total, but when you defend such a total, you need to keep taking wickets. But they had good partnerships, and that was the turning point."
"They still need to understand that when defending smaller targets, they need to bowl according to the plan. They will learn by playing these games. They have the talent and ability to bounce back, but only time will tell if they can do that or not."
With the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia less than a year away, Rohit sounded confident and hopeful that the younger generation making their way through to international cricket will find their feet soon and perform well for the national side. Satisfied with their performances, he said:
"These are the guys who did not play for a while in this format… These are bowlers who have been identified as the ones who can do well in this format. They have done reasonably well.”
The second T20I of the three-match series will be played on November 7th in Rajkot followed by the last T20I fixture on November 10 at Nagpur. A two-match Test series will start from November 14th in Indore before the final, day-night, Test in Kolkata starts from November 22th onwards.