India’s cavalier free spirit Rishabh Pant struggles to handle being caged in Sydney Test

Rishabh Pant got hit 11 times in a brutal examination by Australia’s bowlers, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony awaiting in the India dressing room after another brain snap.

Rishabh Pant is India’s Travis Head – just without a captain and coach to support him.

While Australia have let Head be Head, India won’t let Pant be Pant and his wing-clipped 40 off 98 balls, before finally lashing out with a reckless shot to be caught again in the deep, told the story of a cavalier free spirit struggling to handle being caged.

Iron-fisted Indian coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly gave his batsmen a spray for their reckless shot-making on the final day of the Boxing Day Test – and Pant certainly looked like a man who had just been read the riot act, as he limped to one of the most sluggish innings of his career in a match India has to win.

Throwing his right glove in the air, landing three metres in front of him, as he trudged off the SCG was a gesture of abject frustration and said it all about his scrambled mindset.

Pant got hit 11 times on the body on Friday in a brutal examination by Australia’s bowlers at the SCG, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony he might have been bracing for walking back into a volatile dressing room after another brain snap.

Rishabh Pant leaves the field after another brain snap. Picture: Getty Images

When asked at the post-match press conference about Pant’s shot to get out on the final day in Melbourne four days ago, sacked Indian captain Rohit Sharma responded with the pointed quip; “which one?”

Former Indian captain and ABC expert Sunil Gavaskar also eviscerated Pant in commentary over his outrageous shot in the first innings at the MCG.

With Gambhir, Rohit and Gavaskar all putting him in the gun, it’s not hard to see why the swashbuckling hero of the 2020-21 heist at the Gabba has lost confidence.

Compare that to how Australian coach Andrew McDonald and skipper Pat Cummins have managed their livewire, Head.

The Australian No.5 can also be rocks or diamonds at times but the powers-that-be know that his special innings are match-winning and they give him a licence to thrill, without judgment.

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri knew how to get the best out of Pant.

During a break in play on the final day at the Gabba four years ago, Shastri was on his way to talk to Pant about tactics when he overheard a conversation where Pant had resolved to throw everything at winning the Test and promptly turned on his heel and left his x-factor man to his own devices.

Pant’s shot selection at the MCG lost India the Test, with his slog off Head of all bowlers straight after tea opening the gateway for the stunning Indian seven-wicket collapse in the final session.

If Pant had batted another half an hour, the Test would have been a draw.

Rishabh Pant limped to one of the most sluggish innings of his career. Picture: AFP

But India is learning the hard way what happens when you start to try and change a free spirit.

Melbourne was only one Test, and an all-time classic at that, and what has Gambhir done to India’s chances of bouncing back in Sydney to retain the trophy if he has gone and given Pant an old-fashioned bake?

This is a Test in Sydney where India has to be aggressive and set the pace in pursuit of victory, only for Pant to come out and stutter his way to 15 off his first 50 balls faced – the slowest he has ever scored for that length of time in a Test match.

Rishabh Pant got hit 11 times on the body in a brutal examination by Australia’s bowlers. Picture: AFP

Pant is one of the most dynamic and dangerous match-winners in world cricket and India needed him to be himself.

Like in the second innings in Melbourne, Pant tried desperately to go against his natural instincts and play conservative, but in the end he couldn’t help himself and lashed out off Scott Boland to be caught by Pat Cummins at mid-on.

Pant needs a reset and it will be interesting to see how long it is until he yearns for the kind of backing he used to get from Shastri and that Head gets from Australia’s leaders.