Senior Indian fast bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has backed Rishabh Pant to do well in the coming matches and stated that he will learn with experience. India lost the first T20 international against South Africa by 7 wickets on Thursday.
“He’s a young captain and it was his first match. I’m sure he will try to do better and improve as the series progresses. Generally, the captain is as good as the team and it’s a team effort,” said Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the pre-match press conference.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar highlighted the fact their bowlers had an off day and is confident that the team will come back strongly in the next match. The second T20 international is slated to be played on Sunday at Barabati Stadium.
“Our bowling did not go off well and let him down. If we did well, then you would have hailed his decision-making skills. I’m sure he will do well. There wasn’t any big discussion as anyone can have an off day. As a bowling unit, we had an off day but that’s okay we just want to come back in the next match,” he added.
It is pertinent to note that the senior players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested in the series. Team India are playing under the leadership of a new captain in Rishabh Pant.
Earlier, KL Rahul was the captain of the side, however, he suffered an injury during net practice and was ruled out of the series before the start of the first game. In his absence, Hardik Pandya has assumed the vice-captaincy duties.
India has lost the first T20 international despite posting a mammoth score of 211 runs on the board. In reply, South Africa chased it down in 19.1 overs. The second T20 international is slated to be played at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.
