Rishabh Pant, the Indian wicket-keeper batter, created records by scoring twin centuries in the first Test at Headingley. His centuries were one of the consistent pillars for India's runs that initially looked huge. However, in the post-match press conference, the Indian head coach has allegedly disowned Rishabh's credits and generalized it, saying that there were four other batters who scored a century. And this had sparked controversy over if Gautam Gambhir hates Rishabh Pant or not.
It happened when a journalist, namely Subhayan Chakraborty, representing RevSports, initiated a topic on Rishabh Pant. He just started saying that RIshabh Pant scored two centuries, but Gambhir interrupted halfway, reminding him of the tons coming from three other batters. It came with a sly and calm smile. And this has created the turmoil.
Watch Gautam Gambhir's response here:
Read also: India Drop 10 Catches, Collapse Twice in Shocking Test Defeat
Journalist explained the situation
Later, standing with another RevSports journalist, Subhayan explained the situation. He said that he was not there to give credit to Rishabh or steal the spotlight from somebody else. he was solely bothered with Pant's workload.
Subhayan mentioned that he calculated Rishabh batted for over 100 overs and then kept wicket for almost 184 overs in the Test. However, Gambhir cut the question in between.
Watch the explanation here:
Is Gautam Gambhir aggressive? Can't he handle press? This is something very debatable. But if looked at his interviews or podcasts or whatever he has attended so far, Gambhir is someone who loves to give credit to everyone with the littlest contributions. In fact, the controversial statement he gave for the 2011 final win about MS Dhoni had the same intentions, but that ultimately turned out to be meme material.
Well, this is not the first time Gambhir is being accused of partiality. However, for Gautam Gambhir, the situation is indeed tense. Having 7 defeats in his bucket out of 9 matches he guided is not something peaceful or proud to have. Given the bowling line-up he took to England, he lost an easy match by 5 runs! India will be playing the second Test at Edgbaston, starting on June 2nd, and the team will be hoping to equalize the scoreline with a win.
