'I won't give him even 5 out of 10' - Virender Sehwag unimpressed with Rishabh Pant's captaincy in DC vs RCB game

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag lashed out at Rishabh Pant for not being smart as a skipper after the Delhi Capitals (DC) lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by one run at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In the last over of RCB’s innings, Marcus Stoinis gave away 23 runs after AB de Villiers laid into him with some massive hits over the ropes.

Amit Mishra, the Player of the Match against Mumbai Indians (MI), didn’t complete his quota. He bowled only three overs and picked up the crucial wicket of Glenn Maxwell. Sehwag criticised Pant and rated his captaincy three out of 10. The Nawab of Najafgarh also urged the youngster to make use of his bowling resources more judiciously.

Sehwag asks Rishabh Pant to play smart cricket

“I won’t give him even five marks out of 10 for his captaincy because you just can’t make such mistakes. If your main bowler isn’t bowling, your calculations go wrong – that’s what captaincy is all about. You need to take care of that. A captain must manage his bowling resources according to the situation.

“You need to learn that. Or else you hand over the ball to whomsoever you want. The capability of a skipper is measured by how he turns the game around. He needs to make changes in the bowling or field position accordingly,” Sehwag was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.

“So, if Rishabh Pant wants to become a good captain, he needs to keep these small things in his mind. Play smart cricket, then only you can become a smart skipper,” he stated.

On Tuesday, chasing 172, the Capitals found the going tough in the first half of their innings as they lost wickets and couldn’t keep the required run rate in check. But Shimron Hetmyer got his team back into the contest, scoring 53 runs off 25 balls with the help of two fours and four sixes.

Pant scored 58 runs off 48 balls, but he was never able to accelerate enough. With DC needing 10 runs off the last two balls, the left-hander hit two fours off Mohammed Siraj, but his efforts weren’t enough for the Capitals to win.