Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt made a controversial remark about Rishabh Pant's fitness, calling the India wicketkeeper-batter "overweight" and “less agile”. Butt made these comments on his YouTube channel while analysing the India vs Bangladesh first Test match in Chattogram. Butt said Pant will be far more successful in executing the innovative shots that he tries to manufacture if he loses weight and gets fitter.
Pant came in to bat at No.5 in India's first innings when they were in a lot of trouble having lost the wickets of stand-in captain KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and the great Virat Kohli for only 48 runs on the board. The Indian right-handers were struggling to handle the left-arm spin from Taijul Islam but Pant came in and started to change the course of the game by taking the attack to the Bangladesh spinners.
He was looking well set for a big one but got out for 46 while trying to premeditate a shot against off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
"Rishabh Pant jaise khelte hai waise hi khele phir ek innovation karne gaye aur ajeeb sa out hua baat ko laga phir bad pe laga and then stumps mein. Main unki fitness pe hamesha baat islie karta hu ki jis tarike ka shots wo create karne ki koshis karte hai, agar wo fit ho toh asaani hogi ye execute karne mein. (Rishabh Pant was playing the way he likes to, but he went for something innovative and got out. It was a weird dismissal as the ball hit the bat, pad before rattling the stumps. I always speak on Rishabh Pant's fitness because the kind of shots he plays and tries to innovate, it would be easier for him to execute those shots if he was fit.) I think he is overweight. Definitely, he is overweight and because of that, he is not very agile. He is under the level where he should be, in terms of fitness," Butt said while analysing the left-hander's knock.
After Pant got out, Cheteshwar Pujara (90) and Shreyas Iyer (86) got together to take India to a position of strength. All-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin (58) and Kuldeep Yadav (40) then took the visitors to 404 in the first innings.
{{/usCountry}}After Pant got out, Cheteshwar Pujara (90) and Shreyas Iyer (86) got together to take India to a position of strength. All-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin (58) and Kuldeep Yadav (40) then took the visitors to 404 in the first innings.
{{/usCountry}}In reply, Bangladesh were bowled out for 150 as Kuldeep Yadav (5/40) and Mohammed Siraj (3/20) displayed stunning performances with the ball.