'Play on his emotions' - South Africa legend advises masterplan for Proteas to curb Rishabh Pant's exploits

Published - 14 Nov 2025, 14:17 IST | Updated - 14 Nov 2025, 14:27 IST

Former South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher feels South Africa will derive success over Rishabh Pant if they tap into the latter's emotions while the Indian arrives to bat during the ongoing Test series. Pant recently made a comeback from his foot injury he had sustained during the five-match tour of England.

Boucher credited Pant's prowess and attacking style of play. He appealed the Proteas to strategize well against the left-handed batter. Boucher advised South Africa to put a few fielders on the boundary whenever Pant comes on strike in order to test his patience. He was also confident that the team management would have already made plans for the southpaw.

"Rishabh Pant is a very dangerous player. We've seen him change games in the space of a few hours. South Africa will know that, and they need to have their preparation against him. If they are smart, they will play on his emotions. Also, understand what he wants to do and how he wants to dominate," Boucher stated via Star Sports.

"It's not defensive to put a couple of boundary riders out to Rishabh Pant and make him really work hard for his runs. It's not something he isn't used to doing, but the way that he plays, he wants the scoreboard to be ticking all the time. You can put a slight halt to that and frustrate him a bit. They need to do their homework properly with him, which I am sure they would have probably already done,” he added.

Pant made his comeback to professional cricket following the toe injury during India A's red-ball encounters against the visiting South Africa A. The Haridwar-born got a couple of half-centuries in the series, proving his match-readiness for the international return, which eventually happened with the ongoing Kolkata encounter.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first in their first Test against India at the Eden Gardens. At Tea, the Temba Bavuma-led unit are struggling at 154/8. Jasprit Bumrah has been the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while conceding only 23 runs in 12 overs. For the Proteas, Aiden Markram is the highest run-getter so far with his 31, also opening the innings.