Former Indian cricketer, Gautam Gambhir expressed his disappointment with the Indian team management on how they are treating Rishabh Pant.
The 21-year-old Pant has been under scrutiny for his poor batting performance, specially shot selection.
Pant has been outstanding for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2019, scoring 684 runs. His form during the IPL earned him a spot in the Indian team, but the youngster struggled to score in the international arena.
“Personally, I have always backed Sanju Samson ahead of Rishabh for wicketkeeper-batsman’s role but it is disappointing to see the team-management using words like ‘from fearless to careless’, ‘rap on Rishbah’s knuckles’ and ‘need for a backup of Rishabh’,” quoted Gambhir.
During an interview earlier this month, head coach Ravi Shastri talked about Pant’s form. “There will be a rap on the knuckles there – talent or no talent – because you are letting the team down, forget letting yourself down,” said Shastri.
India’s new batting coach, Vikram Rathour also mentioned Pant’s way of batting. “All the young players need to understand that there is a fine line between fearless cricket and careless cricket,” told Vikram.
Gambhir feels that these kinds of statements from the team management are going to put more pressure on Pant. “This is no way to handle a young human resource. Everyone wants him to play ‘sensible’ cricket. I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that the boy is now playing for survival rather than scoring runs,” said Gambhir.
“From the outside, it seems that his mindset is all over the place. Someone needs to put an arm around his shoulder and tell him that he is wanted in the team,” he concluded.
