'He's a young captain and it was his first match'- Bhuvneshwar Kumar backs Rishabh Pant after loss in series-opener

Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has backed skipper Rishabh Pant after the Indian bowling line-up failed to live up to the expectations under his captaincy in the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on June 9. The Indian bowlers had applied the stranglehold on the South African batters, having dismissed their top-order in their mammoth chase of 212, but they lost the plot thereafter as the middle-order duo of David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen counter-attacked to register a seven-wicket win.

At the same time, the senior pacer also made it clear that the bowlers would come back strongly in the next game despite having an off day in the series-opener. He also made it clear that had India emerged as the winners in the Delhi game, then Pant would have been praised for his excellent decision-making strategies.

I’m sure he will try to do better and improve: Bhuvneshwar Kumar

“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.

“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.

Pant had to take up the captaincy responsibilities at the last moment after KL Rahul was ruled out due to a groin injury. Pant has been leading the Delhi Capitals for two seasons in the IPL, but this was the first instance of him having led India in any format.

Meanwhile, the Men in Blue are fielding a second-string team as key players including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested as a part of the workload management. The hosts would be eager to level the series by winning the second T20I at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on June 12.