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Former India all-rounder Madan Lal said that the management should rest Rishabh Pant and bring in Wriddhiman Saha, who he said was "a sensible batter", for the third Test in Cape Town. Pant has scored only 59 runs so far in the two Tests.
The World cup winner was not happy with wicketkeeper-batter’s shot selection in the second innings of the second Test against South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Despite calling the 24-year-old a "match-winner", Madan Lal said the Pant "should be given a break". The southpaw’s aggressive approach has won India some important games in the past but the same approach has drawn criticism from many experts in recent times.
"He should be given a break. You have someone like Wriddhiman Saha, who is a sensible batter, and a very good wicketkeeper. But Pant has to decide how he wants to bat in Test cricket. If there is some doubt in his mind, it is better to give him a break. He is a match-winning player, but you cannot bat like this. You have to bat for the team and not for yourself," Lal told Aaj Tak.
Pant was also highly criticised by legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar for his dismissal. The 24-year-old has gone relatively cold since his heroics against Australia earlier this year. Since then, apart from his century against England at home, Pant has scored only one half-century in 13 innings, out of which five have produced single-digit scores. Earlier in England, he managed only 146 runs in 7 innings with an average of 20.85. In fact, couldn’t cross the fifty-mark in his last 13 Test innings.
South Africa chased down a tricky target of 240 to win the second Test. The series is now evenly-poised ahead of the decider at the Newlands which will start form January 11.
