“You are the captain of the side” - Former Indian keeper slams Rishabh Pant for his reckless batting on Day 3 of 2nd Test

Former Indian keeper-batter Saba Karim has slammed the stand-in captain Rishabh Pant for his reckless batting approach on the third day of the ongoing second and final Test against South Africa, in Guwahati.

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While batting in response to South Africa’s 489-run total in the first innings, in the 38th over, Pant played a big shot coming out of the crease. However, all he could manage was nicking the ball to the keeper. Moreover, he wasted a review too and kept India in deep trouble, losing his wicket for seven runs off eight balls.

Speaking exclusively on ESPNCricinfo, Karim asserted that as a captain of the side, Pant should’ve shouldered some responsibility by absorbing the pressure and taking blows, adding that he should’ve spent some time before going for high-risk shots. 

"You can't make any sense out of this. How do you explain this? It's very difficult. Maybe first time in his Test career, Rishabh Pant may not be able to explain this. This happened immediately after tea. You are the captain of the side, you need to shoulder some responsibility. You have got enough experience of playing at that level. So, you lead by example. You lead by absorbing pressure and taking blows," Saba Karim said on ESPNCricinfo.

"All that was missing in Rishabh Pant's approach. I can understand you have to play your natural game, but you can do so by spending some time at the crease. Playing such high-risk shots at that stage of the game pushes your entire team into a corner. Now, India have found themselves in such a difficult position. It will be very difficult for them to get out of it," he concluded.

At stumps on Day 3, South Africa was in good control of the game with a 314-run lead without losing a wicket in the third innings.

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