Rishabh Pant Roasted On Live TV As Skipper Forgets To Use This India Star As Bowler

India captain Rishabh Pant looked quite out of place on Day 2 of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati as the team failed to pick a single wicket in the first session of the day. Pant used almost every option available at his disposal, barring one. As the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar struggled to break the Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne partnership, Pant simply refused to give Nitish Kumar Reddy the ball.

Nitish has been named in the side as a pace-bowling all-rounder, but he bowled just 4 overs on Day 1. On the second day, he remained useless from the bowling unit's perspective, with Pant refusing to hand him the ball for a single over, even as other bowlers struggled.

Former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik didn't shy away from questioning Pant's decision.

"The bowler they've forgotten about a little bit is Nitish Kumar Reddy. He's been picked as the bowler who could give a few overs. He bowled four overs right at the start, conceded a boundary in the first over, but none thereafter," Karthik could be heard saying during the second day's play in Guwahati.

DK called out Pant once again for poor use of his resources, saying it seemed as if he forgot Nitish Reddy is also in the playing XI and can bowl. pic.twitter.com/6bzYOchfAN

— LaPulga (@LAPULGA_11) November 23, 2025

Muthusamy, a bowling all-rounder, displayed oodles of patience to score his maiden century in the company of a rampaging Marco Jansen as South Africa piled on India's miseries to race towards an insurmountable first innings score of 428 for seven at lunch on day two of the second Test.

Having consolidated during the wicketless morning session after a 88-run seventh wicket stand with a stodgy Kyle Verreynne (45, 122 balls), Muthusamny (107 batting off 203 balls) didn't change his game even as Jansen (51 batting off 57 balls) belted Kuldeep Yadav (3/110 in 28 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/78 in 26 balls) for as many as four sixes in a stand of 94 runs for the eighth wicket.

Barring Jasprit Bumrah (1/63 in 28 overs), who tirelessly bowled and also briefly got the ball to reverse at the start of the second session, none of the Indian bowlers including the three spinners looked like making an impact. Towards the end, even Bumrah looked exhausted as boundaries came in quick clip and Siraj bowling some mindless bouncers.

Pant, hence, could've shown some trust in Reddy, at least to shoulder the bowlers' burden in the middle. 

With PTI Inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Rishabh Pant Nitish Kumar Reddy Dinesh Karthik Cricket