Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is disappointed with Rishabh Pant’s careless gameplay, which led to India losing in many difficult situations. He mentioned that, apart from just being talented, he also has to maintain composure in difficult situations for India.
India again loses the series to the Proteas; They suffered defeats, but the most humiliating thing was that they lost both the games without a proper fight. The first game ended with a disastrous batting collapse while chasing a timid score, while the second was even more disastrous as on a track where the Proteas batsmen were close to three hundred, the Indian team failed to score a double century.
Ravichandran Ashwin believes, “Rishabh Pant has great defensive technique; he should use it.”
The legendary Indian spinner, who shared the dressing room and nets with India’s stand-in captain Rishabh Pant, has said that players have great defensive technique and ability to move forward and they should make the most of it. Ravichandran Ashwin remembered that he had said the same thing to Pant in the dressing room.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “My heart used to beat faster in the dressing room when Rishabh Pant used to bat. He has a great game and defence, so I always wonder why he hits those kind of shots. I would still say he is a very good player and the day he takes responsibility, things can start changing. I don’t deny the X-factor he brings. Nathan Astle once played in Christchurch. Scored 200 runs.”
He said, “But after that he did not play the same way in every Test. Similarly, batsmen cannot play the same way every time. I have said this in the dressing room, but it cannot change until they realize this. If you are the captain today, 10 others will follow your footsteps. So, responsibility is important.”
The second innings dismissal was disgusting from his point of view, as he latched onto a flight delivery from Simon Harmer, and it took the shoulder of the bat and went straight to Aiden Markram in the slip cordon. He was out for just 13 runs and India suffered its biggest defeat by 408 runs.
“It would have been great to take the game till the last session”, says Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin also said that the pitch in Guwahati was good enough to play good Test cricket, but India could not put up an impressive fight.
“Ravi Shastri used to say, ‘You should have that ticker.’ But not everyone has this. I was not sad about losing the Test, but there was no fight. This pitch was also of test quality. I would have been happy if they had made it to the last session and lost. I understand that a leader should take responsibility, but in the dressing room, everyone should individually raise their hands and take accountability,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.
He said, “Only then will there be improvement. I would still say that this team is far behind in terms of experience and everything in Test cricket. It will take time to move up this time.”
South Africa won its first Test series in India since 2000 under Gautam Gambhir’s reign.
Gautam Gambhir’s reign has marked the toughest era for India in the longest format of the game. Till Gambhir’s arrival, India was the number one player in the world. 1 Test team and remained virtually unbeaten on home soil for over a decade.
After Gambhir’s arrival, India not only started losing series at home but also faced a shameful elimination. South Africa and India had a record of not winning any series on their soil for decades, but this record has been set aside recently with the victories at Eden Gardens and then in Guwahati.
This is South Africa’s first Test series win in India since they won it for the first time in 2000. It was India’s second whitewash at home in 12 months and Temba Bavuma’s 11th consecutive win after leading South Africa in 12 matches in red-ball cricket.
Also read: After the embarrassing defeat to South Africa, BCCI gives final decision on the future of Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar
