EXCLUSIVE: 'Pant is the most irresponsible batsman,' says Karsan Ghavri

The batsman continued with his aggressive method even as the team was staring at a possible defeat with six players back in the hut. The relentless accuracy and pressure by Kiwi bowlers eventually had him at 41 as he went charging against Trent Boult.

Hyderabad:Former Indian pacer Karsan Ghavri termed Rishabh Pant as the "most irresponsible batsman" and blamed him along with the team's underperforming middle order troika of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for the team's crushing defeat against New Zealand in the World Test Championship Final at Southampton.

"New Zealand deserve to win the Championship. The Indian team were a little overconfident. They were in a dreamland or something. We could have drawn the Test match in fact. But Rishabh Pant went for a reckless shot. He had two lives before that but still couldn't capitalise. He is the most irresponsible player in the last 20 years," Ghavri told Etv Bharat over the telephone.

Pant, who has been in sensational form after match-winning performances in Australia, especially the historic innings at Gabba followed by the Indian Premier League, couldn't replicate the same against New Zealand as expectations from him run sky-high.

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Pant scored 4 runs in the first innings and got dismissed while trying to drive a ball wide from his body. In the second, he was gifted life after being dropped by Tim Southee and yet he continued charging the Kiwi fast bowlers.

The batsman continued with his aggressive method even as the team was staring at a possible defeat with six players back in the hut. The relentless accuracy and pressure by Kiwi bowlers eventually had him at 41 as he went charging against Trent Boult.

"Every match is not the same. Six wickets had already fallen in the match when he was batting. He has got a very beautiful and solid defence. It's just a matter of cool head. He should not have gone for that shot. He could have stretched the match till tea and a draw was always a possibility," the left-arm pacer said.

He criticised Pant saying players like him don't listen as even in the past he has fallen prey to "reckless shot selection".

"He needs to control his temperament. This style of play will not work in Test cricket. You have to play according to the situation. You have to play like you can take it to a draw. I blame him for the loss. This match was 100 percent headed for a draw," Ghavri, who alongside Kapil Dev picked 183 wickets in 27 Test matches, added.

The Indian team were also let down by their experienced campaigners in both the innings of the Test match. While skipper Kohli scored 57 runs, Rahane and Pujara contributed 64 and 23 respectively in the match. Ghavri minced no words, terming their performance as a "pathetic display" of cricket.

"Our middle order was a failure in both the innings. It was a pathetic display. Pujara, Rahane and Kohli are the backbone of the middle order but failed to click which led to the downfall," Ghavri said even as he praised the Kiwi side for their discipline in all facets of the game.

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"New Zealand showed a tremendous amount of discipline in bowling, batting and catching behind the stumps. Look at the number of wickets that fell behind the stumps. All of them who bowled were disciplined in their line and lengths. They made our batsmen commit mistakes. They deserve to win the championship," he said.

The loss led to social media and critics questioning Kohli's captaincy and his inability to win ICC tournaments. The argument is backed up by the fact that the Indian team has lost thrice -- 2017 Champion Trophy final, ICC ODI World Cup 2019 and World Test Championship final -- under his captaincy.

The drought has continued for too long and the loss yet again meant comparisons between him and MS Dhoni started trafficking Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

But Ghavri is convinced that Virat has done his job well so far.

"With the Indian team, Virat has done extremely well. He is a very good captain, a very aggressive one. He takes decisions very quickly. I would say he is a result-oriented captain. There is nothing wrong with his captaincy. On the other hand, Williamson is completely different. He is cool like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He doesn't have superstars in his team and still can take the required work from his players with a smiling face which shows in the results. Williamson deserves to be a winner," Ghavri added.

--Ayushmaan Pandey