Cricket
Yuvraj Singh came to the rescue of under-fire Rishabh Pant after many cricket pundits, including former England star Kevin Pietersen, slammed the young batsman for his dismissal against New Zealand.
Updated : Jul 11, 2019, 12:44 PM IST | Edited by : Karen Noronha
Yuvraj Singh came to the rescue of under-fire Rishabh Pant after many cricket pundits, including former England star Kevin Pietersen, slammed the young batsman for his dismissal against New Zealand.
Pant - who came out to bat at the number four spot after the Indian top-order collapsed - got out to an extravagant shot to Mitchell Santner at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Chasing 240, India lost the match by 18 runs.
"How many times have we seen @RishabPant777 do that?????!!!!! The very reason he wasn't picked initially! Pathetic!," Pietersen tweeted after Pant's dismissal.
How many times have we seen @RishabPant777 do that?????!!!!!
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) July 10, 2019
The very reason he wasn’t picked initially!
Pathetic!
Coming to Pant's defence, Yuvraj replied, "He's played 8 ODIs! It's not his fault he will learn and get better it's not pathetic at all! However, we all are entitled to share our opinions."
He’s played 8 Odis ! It’s not his fault he will learn and get better it’s not pathetic at all ! However we all are entitled to share our opinions
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 10, 2019
Pietersen soon replied back to the former cricketer and tried to clarify what he meant. He wrote, "My criticism comes out of frustration because of how good he is, mate. He does it sooooo many times! Let’s hope he learns FAST!"
My criticism comes out of frustration because of how good he is, mate. He does it sooooo many times! Let’s hope he learns FAST!
— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) July 10, 2019
Yuvraj replied to the Tweet saying he agrees.
I agree
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) July 10, 2019
Indian captain Virat Kohli had also defended Pant after the match and believed that the immensely talented 21-year-old will learn from his mistake.
India were 71 for five when Pant got out.
(Inputs from PTI)