Former India player Mohammad Kaif blamed Rishabh Pant’s tactics after India’s defeat to South Africa in the first Test. However, South Africa beat India by 30 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series as well. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill walked off retired hurt in the first innings and did not take the field in the rest of the Test. And, Rishabh Pant took charge as captain as well.

“We gave them too many singles. Is it easy to score against four spinners on a turning track? Keep a mid-on, bring the point up, and ask the batters to take the challenge. The fielders were behind and 70-80% of their runs came in singles. Pant kept an in and out field with Gill not there and that also had an effect. He also took some time to understand things,” he said on his YouTube channel.

READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli

“There would have been a difference if Gill was there. He could not play both innings. If we got a better lead, say 50, 60 or 100 runs, we would put South Africa out of the game there itself. It was a miss. Not having him on the field as captain was also a miss. In the second innings he was not there in the chase. So there is definitely a direct connection as Gill is one of our best batters at the moment. He is in form as well such a player can save you in such situations,” he shared again.

Meanwhile, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma continued his good run as South Africa’s captain in the format. Post their win, Mohammad Kaif applauded him for his captaincy as well.

“South Africa’s strength has been their fielding and captaincy, history is witness to this. When Markram got Sundar out, praise Bavuma as a captain that he stopped Maharaj and got Markram in there. Sundar was a set batter at that point. Whenever they got any chances, there were fielders there too. You talk about the fielding and the bowling changes. They even won without Rabada,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.