Out of nowhere, when Rishabh Pant dropped the ‘F’ word during a presentation ceremony, it stunned the cricket fraternity. Ian Bishop, a former cricketer turned commentator and cricket expert, apologized on behalf of Pant for the uncensored reply to keep the gentleman’s game clean.
Sunil Gavaskar thinks in a different way. The legendary figure of Indian cricket, who called Rishabh Pant ‘stupid’ during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, backs the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain in the middle of controversy.
Rishabh Pant gets Sunil Gavaskar’s support
Gavaskar, in his column in Mid-day, tried to explain that the ‘F’ word came out of pure emotions. Rishabh Pant was asked to explain the match after their 9th defeat in the season. Interview of the losing captain right after the match should be changed, the losing captain deserves some extra minutes to settle down their thoughts before going for the conversation, Sunil Gavaskar suggests to the IPL authority.
Traditionally, it is the losing team captain who joins the match-after ceremony to speak out first, followed by the winning team captain and the Player of the match. Gavaskar’s suggestion is to call the losing team captain later to hold the mic.
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Gavaskar asks IPL to change some rules
“Rishabh Pant dropping the ‘F’ word in his post-game interview does make one wonder whether it is necessary to interview the captain whose team has just lost the game barely minutes earlier. If it’s been a last-over finish, then the disappointment for the captain would be even greater, and if he is also the wicketkeeper who has been running up and down to the stumps every other delivery and that too in this heat, then it can add to his frustration,” the former opener wrote in his column.
“It might be a better idea to speak to the ‘player of the match’ from the winning team and give the captain of the losing team a little time to splash some water on his face and regain his composure, and then come over for an interview. As it is, there will be a bit of time for the presentation party to be ready, so giving the captain of the team that has lost a few more minutes could well ensure that such things won’t happen,” he added.
Gavaskar tries to explain Pant as a player
The former cricketer further mentions that Pant is one of the most cheerful players on the ground, who loves to play the game in his own way.
“Rishabh Pant is one of the most cheerful guys in the game who loves playing the sport in his own unique way. And the fact that even he lost it does make the case for the losing team’s captain to be given a few more minutes to recover his thoughts rather than have the mic shoved in his face even before he has had time to get his breath back,” the column further reads.
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