Rishabh Pant is having a horror series. He has failed with the bat in all three innings and has clearly struggled with the burden of captaincy. Pant was the stand-in captain very early at the Eden Gardens after Shubman Gill got ruled out due to injury, and the former looked clueless in his leadership skills.
The pattern has continued in Guwahati on his official Test captaincy debut as South Africa racked up a mammoth total of 489 after opting to bat on a flat Guwahati surface. It's gotten worse for Pant after his dismissal to Marco Jansen in the second session of the third day. The left-hander charged down the track in T20 style to slog Marco Jansen, only to get a thin edge through to the keeper.
Rishabh Pant bats like a rash auto rickshaw driver.#RishabhPant #cricket #INDvsSA #TestCricket #Gambhir
— AmitKarania (@AmitKarania) November 24, 2025
It wasn't given on-field but the Proteas were confident about the edge and reviewed successfully to reverse the original decision. The dismissal looked ugly and comical, and not surprisingly, Pant is under scathing criticism on social media fron fans and former cricketers. It isn't the first time that he is being targeted and with the way he plays his game, this won't be the last either.
Pace bowling legend Dale Steyn was among those who were angered by Pant's dismissal.
That is just a brainfade shot
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) November 24, 2025
'That is such a brainfade shot', wrote Steyn through his social media handle on X.
Steyn's words were justified, given the choice of shot from Pant in such a crisis match situation. Social media has been in ruthless mood since that wicket fell and Pant is bearing the brunt of the onslaught, particularly with India's batting unit enduring another poor stint in the series.
As captain Rishabh Pant had no business to throw away his wicket by recklessly stepping out to slog in form SA bowler Marco Jansen. India was very vulnerable then, 4 wickets down for very little runs. Pant cannot afford his flourishes when the team needed stability.
— M K Venu (@mkvenu1) November 24, 2025
"Rishabh Pant bats like a rash auto rickshaw driver", went a user on X, clearly irritated by the dismissal.
"Idk when will Rishabh Pant understand the meaning of responsibility. If even after being captain he doesn't understand how to play responsibly for the team god knows when he will." wrote another user.
