Gautam Gambhir may not have named anyone after India’s debilitating 408-run defeat to South Africa in the second Test in Guwahati, but his veiled swipe at stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant was obvious. His anger was unmistakable during the fiery 15-minute presser at the Barsapara Stadium on Wednesday, where he criticised Pant for “playing to the gallery.”
On Day 3 of the do-or-die match, India were 95 for one in the first innings before everything spiralled out of control. In the blink of an eye, the hosts crumbled to 122 for seven, with Marco Jansen inflicting most of the damage with his six-wicket haul. Rishabh Pant was among those dismissals. At a time when India needed one of their most experienced batters to show discretion, Pant charged down the track for a big slog and ended up edging a length ball to the wicketkeeper. Even Sunil Gavaskar was stunned by the manner of his dismissal.
After the defeat, Gambhir was asked whether he had expected more from Pant, who is now just one short of 50 Test appearances, and he minced no words in saying: “You don’t blame one individual shot. You don’t blame one individual playing in a certain way. You blame everyone. So, me talking about an individual, I’ve never done that. I am not going to do it.”
Gambhir’s next words, however, made it clear who he was referring to. He spoke of the need for better mental toughness, technique, patience, sacrifice, and putting the team first, before stressing “not playing for the gallery.” It was an unmistakable message aimed at Pant.
“The reality is, we still need to improve a lot in red ball cricket. Whether it’s mentally, whether it’s technically, whether it’s absorbing pressure, whether it’s sacrificing, whether it’s putting the team ahead of your individual self. And most importantly, not playing for the gallery,” he added.
When further pressed on how he would fix accountability, Gambhir’s reply left no room for guesswork.
“It comes from care. What you care about the dressing room, how much you care about the dressing room and the team. Because accountability and the game situation can never be taught,” Gambhir said.
“… Ultimately when you go in, if you keep putting the team ahead of your own self, not thinking that this is how I play, and this is how I will get the results, and this is how I play, I don’t want to play the second, I don’t have plan B. So, sometimes, you will get these kind of collapses as well,” the head coach’s statement could have only been pointed at one man.
“How much you care about Indian cricket and how much you care about the team and people sitting in the dressing room is important as well,” he couldn’t have been more precise with his response.
