India national cricket team’s Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant has shared an emotional post on his official social media handle after his team’s defeat in the Test series against the South Africa national cricket team.
Rishabh Pant apologized to the fans for the team’s poor performance and assured them that the Indian national cricket team will bounce back stronger from this setback.
South Africa beats India in the test series
India were absolutely a dominant force in Test cricket on home soil for over a decade and they remained unbeatable for a long period. Teams were afraid to tour India for red-ball games, as most of the time they faced crushing defeats against the host team.
In the period 2012–23, India lost a total of 5 Test matches and no series, maintaining the home record. However, in 2024, New Zealand defeated India 3–0, the first such instance in Test history.
After this, India lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy away from home to Australia, but performed brilliantly in the five-match Test series in England and leveled the series 2-2.
Things seemed to be going in the right direction for India, but they suffered an embarrassing 0-2 clean sweep at the hands of the South Africa national cricket team. The Temba Bavuma-led side defeated India by 30 runs in the first Test in Kolkata and won the second by 408 runs.
There is no problem with the fact that we did not play good cricket – Rishabh Pant
India suffered a major setback during the Test series, in the first game itself at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, captain Shubman Gill was out of the field due to a neck injury and the responsibility of captaincy fell on vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
Pant took over the captaincy for the remaining part of the Kolkata Test and also the second Test in Guwahati, but was unable to bring results in India’s favour.
This defeat has hurt Rishabh Pant a lot as he admitted to Ax that he did not play good cricket. He said:
“There is no getting away from the fact that we did not play good enough cricket in the last two weeks. As a team and individually, we always want to perform at the highest level and bring smiles on the faces of billions of Indians.”
Sorry that we could not live up to the expectations – Rishabh Pant
Pant expressed ‘sorry’ to the fans for India not performing as per expectations and said that the team is capable of putting up a big performance, which will assure everyone of success in the future. He said:
“Sorry we couldn’t live up to expectations this time, but sport teaches you to learn, adapt and grow as both a team and an individual.
“Representing India is the greatest honor of our lives. We know what this team is capable of and we will work hard to come back stronger and better as a team and individuals, regroup, refocus and reset. Thank you for your unwavering support and love! Jai Hind. #RP17.”
– Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) 27 November 2025
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