Gavaskar went on to harsh note to criticize Pant’s decision
Rishabh Pant-led India is playing a five-match T20I series against South Africa. The team had to face successive defeats in the first and second T20I of the series. The visitors completely outplayed the Indian team and registered an easy victory of six wickets.
Batting first, the hosts posted a moderate total of 148 runs for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. Bavuma’s men easily chased the target with the batting heroics of Heinrich Klassen who changed the match in favor of his team by smashing 81 runs off 46 balls.
After the second consecutive defeat, Indian skipper Rishabh Pant is feeling the heat of criticism from all sides. This list includes the various former greats of the game. Recently, former Indian skipper and legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has bashed the 24-year-old for his decision to promote Axar Patel ahead of Dinesh Karthik in the batting order during the second T20I.
Being a finisher doesn’t mean they should play in the end only – Gavaskar
“Sometimes there are these labels like ‘finisher’. And when you talk about a finisher you think he will come to bat only after the 15th over. He can’t come in the 12th or the 13th over. When, if they had been sent earlier, because they have the ability to work things around, they don’t necessarily have to hit sixes from the time they come in. The fact that when they get to the batting area and work the ball around, they get the feel of the wicket, and they can bat accordingly in the last 4-5 overs,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying in a conversation with the Star Sports.
To note, the Indian skipper decided to promote Axar Patel up in the order before Dinesh Karthik and the decision backfired for India as Axar could score only ten runs of 11 balls. Although, the senior wicketkeeper-batter Karthik has proved his worth for the team by scoring 30 off just 21 deliveries.
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