Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim criticised Rishabh Pant for his dismissal on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa on Monday, November 24. The wicketkeeper-batter managed only seven runs before
gifting his wicket to Marco Jansen.
Pant attempted an aggressive swing but ended up edging the ball to Kyle Verreynne behind the stumps. Coming in after the crucial wickets of Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal had fallen, the stand-in skipper’s approach drew disappointment from fans.
Karim slammed the left-hander for what he described as a reckless shot selection, saying Pant should have absorbed the pressure instead of throwing his wicket away.
"You can't make any sense out of this. How do you explain this? It's very difficult. For the 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," 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 added.
After securing a 288-run lead in the first innings, South Africa reached 26 without loss at stumps on Day 3, tightening their grip on the second Test. Openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 13 and 12 respectively.
The hosts negotiated eight overs in the final session after bowling India out for 201 in 83.5 overs. South Africa had earlier won the first Test by 30 runs in Kolkata.
