Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif shared a criticism for Rishabh Pant’s captaincy in the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Indian skipper Shubman Gill suffered a neck injury during the first Test and didn’t come to bat in the second innings of the match. After that, vice-captain Rishabh Pant took charge as captain for the rest of the match.
However, it turned out to be a forgettable outing for the Indian team as they failed to chase a target of 124 runs on day three and ended up losing the game by 30 runs. Sharing his insights on Pant’s captaincy, Mohammad Kaif said that the result would have been different if Shubman Gill was there on the field as captain.
"We gave them too many singles. Is it easy to score against four spinners
on a turning track? Keep a mid-on, bring the point up, and ask the batters to take the challenge. The fielders were behind and 70-80% of their runs came in singles. Pant kept an in and out field with Gill not there and that also had an effect. He also took some time to understand things," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Gill is one of our best batters at the moment: Mohammad Kaif
Speaking further, Mohammed Kaif also hailed Gill batting and said that he is one of India’s best batters at the moment and would play a crucial role in chasing a target of 124 runs. “There would have been a difference if Gill was there. He could not play both innings. If we got a better lead, say 50, 60 or 100 runs, we would put South Africa out of the game there itself. It was a miss. Not having him on the field as captain was also a miss,” Kaif said..
In the second innings he was not there in the chase. So there is definitely a direct connection as Gill is one of our best batters at the moment. He is in form as well such a player can save you in such situations," he further added.
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