India’s Rishabh Pant-led team is 2-0 down in the five-match series against South Africa.
The third T20I between India and South Africa is a must-win game for the visitors. The India team, led by Rishabh Pant, was not at its best in the first two matches and lost both times. Pant, the stand-in captain after KL Rahul was forced out with a groin ailment just days before the series began, has also struggled with the bat. Pant has a 29-5 lead after two innings of play. Wasim Jaffer, a former Indian cricket team batsman, believes Pant needs to study the T20 game better for someone with his level of experience.
“Pant’s style is to come out and attack, and we’ve seen him do it before. He isn’t the best at anything he does, whether it’s rotating strike, playing wickets, or whatever else comes up in the game. We’ve seen him attack whenever he’s done well for India, winning games. At times, he gets out and appears to be a fool “Wasim Jaffer stated this in an ESPNCricinfo conversation.
“That said, he belongs at the No. 5 or No. 6 spot, as I’ve already stated. Since Pant has done so well in the IPL, I would have preferred that he bat at No. 4 and that Hardik Pandya bat at No. 5 because he has done so well. I believe that’s the finest place for him to be. Whether you realize it or not, he has to go through this series to find out if this is the job for him in the long run. On several occasions, we’ve witnessed that he hasn’t played well. He must ascertain the truth. This is not the first time I’ve mentioned this, but he’s not a T20 genius. In both Tests and ODIs, he’s proven to be able to do so. When playing ODIs, he has won all of India’s matches by himself, but it hasn’t happened nearly as often in T20Is or the IPL. He must devise a strategy.”
ESPNcricinfo has another video of Jaffer talking about Pant, in which he says: “Yes, even in the IPL, we’ve seen that. It’s possible that the more he reads, the better he’ll get at some point. But at this point, I believe that when the match becomes close, he gets a little nervous “An interview with ESPNCricinfo was conducted by Jaffer.
“Indian control over the series has waned to some extent. India will have to play flawless cricket from here on out if they are to win this five-match series if they are to recover from a 2-0 deficit. Regardless of who wins the toss, a good score should be achieved.”
To be clear, Pant still has a long way to go before he can win over Jaffer’s respect and trust.
