Rishabh Pant needs to understand what is required of him: Rohit Sharma

Rishabh Pant’s dismissal in the second innings during the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 30 (Monday) was the turning point as India went into a freefall of wickets and eventually lost the match by 184 runs. 

While Pant was there with Yashasvi Jaiswal, a draw seemed the most likely result with the Indian left-handed duo blunting out the Aussie pacers in an 88-run stand, which went on for 195 balls, which was all the more important. 

However, Pant fell for a loose ball from Travis Head right after the third session started and got caught at the boundary by Mitchell Marsh. It was a rash shot, much like what he played in the first innings as well. In both the innings, Pant was well set, batting at 28 (37) and 30 (104) respectively. 

Reacting to his dismissal, India skipper Rohit Sharma in the post-match press conference said, “It just happened. There has not been any discussion about today. Everybody is disappointed.”

“Rishabh Pant needs to understand what is required of him. More than anyone telling us, he needs to figure it out himself. As a captain, there is mixed reaction to it,” the Indian captain said when he was asked about having a conversation as a skipper with his players. 

“Sometimes you want to back him the way he bats, and sometimes it just frustrates. As a captain, it is hard to have conversations. There is a fine line on how to tell him to do something and not to do something,” he added.