IND vs AUS: Sanjay Manjrekar Backs Rishabh Pant Amid ‘Shot Selection’ Criticism After India’s Loss In MCG Test

Sanjay Manjrekar voiced his support for under-fire wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, emphasising that criticism should target his failures rather than his shot selection.

'Pant Should Be Criticised Only For His Failures, Rather Than How He Fails': Manjrekar

Source : PTI

Sydney: Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar on Tuesday appeared to have thrown his weight behind under-fire wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, saying the focus should be on his failures and not on his shot selection.

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday lashed out at Pant for his "stupid" shot in India's first innings of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne, and after the visitors lost the game by 184 runs on Monday following another forgettable performance by their front line batters, skipper Rohit Sharma said the flamboyant keeper needs to understand what is required of him.

Pant got out to a half-tracker from part-time bowler Travis Head in the second innings, attracting criticism from some quarters.

Weighing in on the debate around the stumper's shot selection, Manjrekar tweeted, "Pant should be criticised only for his failures, rather than how he fails. He averages 42 in Tests with at least 3 great innings, ever played by an Indian! In 42 tests he has 6 hundreds & 7 nineties. He is a great player not scoring enough runs & that's the crux of it." In nine matches since returning from the horrific accident in December 2022, Pant has played some significant knocks, including a century against Bangladesh and a fine 99 against New Zealand, as well as a pair of 60s in the final match of the series against the Black Caps at home.

However, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under has seen Pant struggle with the bat, with the player making 154 runs in seven innings.

The fifth and final match of the ongoing series will be played at SCG from January 3. Australia lead the rubber 2-1 after wins in Adelaide and Melbourne while India emerged victorious in the series opener at Perth.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)