IND vs SA | Rishabh Pant was let down by bowlers in first T20I, remarks Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Indian team didn’t start well in the five-match T20I series against South Africa under the leadership of Rishabh Pant. KL Rahul was earlier appointed to be the captain of the team but he was ruled out of the series due to a groin injury. The leadership was then handed to Pant but he has faced a lot of criticism after defeat in the first game of the series by seven wickets. While sharing his views on the game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar said that Rishabh Pant was let down by bowlers. 

"Our bowling did not go off well and let him down. If we did well, then you would have hailed his decision-making skills. I'm sure he will do well," Bhuvenshwar said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the second T20I.

"He's a young captain and it was his first match. I'm sure he will try to do better and improve as the series progresses. Generally, the captain is as good as the team and it's a team effort.

In the first match, India posted a huge total of 211/4 while batting first. However, they were not able to defend it and the visitors won the game by seven wickets with five balls to spare. The bowling attack included Bhuveshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahla but they failed in restricting the opponents. Bhuvneshwar admitted that the bowling was poor but they will look to do better in the next game. 

"There wasn't any big discussion as anyone can have an off day. As a bowling unit, we had an off day but that's okay we just want to come back in the next match," he stated.

"It was the first match of the series and everybody was coming out of the IPL, almost everyone in the team had a good IPL. Everyone knows what needs to be done and things to improve on.”