'If you are replacing someone like MS Dhoni...': Former Pakistan skipper slams Rishabh Pant for irresponsible batting

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has criticised Indian wicketkeeper/batter Rishabh Pant for not showing enough responsibility with the bat after he got out in the second innings of the second Test in Johannesburg.

Pant went back to the hut without troubling the scorers in the second innings.

He got three back-to-back good deliveries from Rabada, the third of which was the wicket ball.

It was a good bouncer which Pant wanted to pull by stepping out. The earlier ball was also a bouncer that had rattled Pant on the back foot. It had brushed his gloves and went to slips on one bounce. That was certainly still playing on his mind.

Thinking to take Rabada on, Pant gave him a charge on the next ball but ended up losing his wicket. The soft inside edge went straight to keeper. 

Meanwhile, Butt believes Pant to rethink his batting strategy and show some patience in the middle rather than playing rash shots.

"Definitely, he has to put a price on his wicket. His shot against South Africa was irresponsible. I feel that's not a confident shot. It's the other way around. He plays like that due to a lack of confidence. If a player stays at the crease and takes time in the middle, things will get better for him. Pant comes in and starts hitting from the word go," said Butt on his YouTube channel.

"When he started, it looked like a confident shot. But this show at present looks more like a 'lack of confidence' shot. His approach hasn't been helped him score runs in recent times. He is a capable player and has a lot of talent. But he isn't exploring other options to score runs," he added.

Notably, Pant’s last Test century came against England in March 2021. In the last seven Test matches, the southpaw has scored mere 250 runs.

“He is not even lifting his patience levels. That can be harsh… on the team and the player himself. He is keeping for a leading Test team after replacing MS Dhoni with the gloves. 

“If you are replacing someone like Dhoni, you need to rethink your strategy. You are in the team because of your talent… but Test cricket has a lot of time to build the innings. If you hit such kinds of shots, you will receive a lot of flak from experts, analysts and fans as well,” Butt further said.