Indian captain Rohit Sharma highlighted that wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant needs to figure out the risk-reward game himself after India suffered an 184-run loss in the fourth Test match against Australia at the MCG on Monday.
Pant’s shot selection in both innings came under fire as he was dismissed while trying to play the big shots. After tea on the final day, Pant decided to go for a big shot against Travis Head but holed out to long-on, Mitchell Marsh.
India had seven wickets in the bank before Pant’s dismissal and his wicket opened the door for Australia to bounce back into the game. Furthermore, Pant was settled at the crease in both innings after scoring 28 and 30 runs.
“It’s [Pant’s dismissal] just happened, there hasn’t been any discussion about today,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference. “Obviously we’ve lost the game, everybody is disappointed about how things panned out … But again, look, Rishabh Pant obviously he needs to understand what is required from himself.
“More than any one of us telling him, it’s about him understanding and figuring out what’s the right way to go about it. In the past, he has given us lot of success doing what he does. As a captain, there’s a kind of mixed reaction to that.
“Sometimes you want to back that thought of him playing the way he plays, sometimes when things don’t look good, it frustrates everyone. That is what it is, that’s the reality. It’s the success and failure – need to be balanced about it. As captain, it’s hard to have a conversation when it has given him a lot of success as well. But it’s about him figuring out what is the right way to do things, it’s about situations as well. Certain situations of the game, if there’s a risk percentage, do you want to take that risk? Do you want to let the opposition come back into the game? Those are the things he needs to figure out himself.
“I’ve known Rishabh for a long time, [I] understand his cricket as well … In terms of conversations, no way I can say I’ve not had a chat with him or he doesn’t understand what the team expects. He understands that. But things that he does give him results as well, just the fine line between telling him not to do those things or telling him to do those things.”
Pant has already played some unbelievable knocks for India in the red-ball version and he has been a match-winner, especially in foreign conditions. The left-hander has adopted an aggressive approach on most occasions and it has paid dividends for him but on Monday, he might have missed a trick.
The fifth and final Test match between Australia and India will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 onwards.
