IND vs SA 2022: 3 reasons behind Rishabh Pant's captaincy struggles

Rishabh Pant is really struggling at the moment.

As a player, he is 'the' talent in Indian cricket who has already done more than what most people only dream of doing and is constantly getting better with every match.

As captain, he has just failed to lead a well-balanced Delhi Capitals (DC) team to IPL 2022 qualifiers. He made a few decisive mistakes throughout the year, including in the loss to the 10th-placed side in their final league match. Soon after that, he was awarded another dream - to lead India in T20Is!

The last thing he would have wanted in such a situation was two back-to-back losses and conceding a 2-0 lead in a five-match series at home. In the first T20I, at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, South Africa chased a mammoth target of 212 in 19.1 overs and Pant was criticized for not utilizing leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal well.

In the second match, India failed to defend 149 despite reducing the visitors to 29-3 in 5.3 overs on a difficult pitch. This time, Pant was again criticized for not adapting his plans to the situation and not optimizing the use of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Captaincy is a mental skill and the reasons behind the youngster's struggles could be manifold.

Below, we have briefly analyzed three possibilities that could be affecting his game and in some cases, their possible solutions.

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#1 Lack of experience

Every game presents a different and sometimes completely unique situation to a captain. Pant has led in only about 30 IPL matches and two T20Is and still has a long way to go in learning the intricacies of the art. Recently, Wasim Jaffer also said on ESPNcricinfo that this lack of experience makes him panic in tight situations.

Every leader makes mistakes. Even if Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans (GT) to an emphatic IPL title win in 2022, was given the opportunity in place of Pant, there is a high chance he would have struggled too.

International cricket is a different fish altogether. Most captains at this level either have years of domestic experience or have seen off multiple tournaments as vice-captains. Pant hasn't had a chance to do so and should be allowed to make mistakes in such bilateral series, as long as he's trying his best not to repeat them.

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#2 Issues with the team

The two openers - Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad - are playing some of their first games together in this series. Spinners Chahal and Axar Patel have hardly bowled together. The pace trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel are new too, but are already facing competition from the bench.

The most seasoned member, Dinesh Karthik, has made a comeback after years and is most likely still adjusting to the new environment. Most importantly, all these players were only recently competing against each other in the IPL and have now been asked to dovetail their skills together under a young captain.

It's far from easy. These small subliminal issues take time to get ironed out, and South Africa, who aren't facing any of these problems, are far too good to not exploit it. They have come up with accurate planning and have form and familiarity with their side - all of which Pant and his team would only gain with time on the field. Losing two tosses in a row on pitches where dew plays a key role hasn't helped either.

These things don't matter much in the IPL because the starting points for all teams are almost the same and it all evens out till the qualifiers start. We also have to remember that Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have a system and a project in place for the future of this team. In the absence of the regular skipper, it's quite difficult for the second-choice vice-captain to dictate the flow immediately.

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#3 Rishabh Pant is probably burnt out

Imagine managing all of the above issues when you are mentally burnt out. Pant has shown an unparalleled capacity to keep playing without any injury or mental-health-specific breaks. But even with his youthful ebullience, he needs to rest.

There is a strong opinion that after playing most of India's last few games across formats and then captaining in the IPL, he should've been rested for this series. Instead, he is leading and is among the two players who'll fly straight to England from here for another all-format tour.

So effectively, the 24-year-old is still fighting for a spot in the 2022 T20 World Cup, has no time to prepare for a crucial Test match in English conditions, and is currently playing T20Is in India, and also has to manage an international team.

It can't be stressed enough that like other all-format players - Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah - Pant also deserves at least a short break every now and then. Even if he's 200 percent more charged up than usual for his first captaincy stint for the country and manages to avoid an injury like KL Rahul, his struggles are likely to be reflected in the small margins of the T20 game - which is exactly what's happening.

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