Robin Uthappa questioned India’s concern with personal milestones when Rishabh Pant was run out while attempting to provide strike to KL Rahul, who was batting on 98 in the final over before tea on Day 3 of the third Test at Lord’s last week.
Before the dismissal, India was 248/3 and on track to surpass England’s first-innings score of 387. Pant was batting on 74 as India looked to build a sizable first-innings advantage. The tourists were eventually bowled out for 387 and lost the match by 22 runs.
After the Lord’s Test, Rahul revealed that he hoped to finish the century before the tea break. Former India batsman Robin Uthappa has questioned Rahul and India’s attitude.
“Did anyone ask him why he thought obtaining his 100 was important before lunchtime? There must have been a cause. Why was that a thought? Why was that carefully considered? If someone had asked him why, we would have gotten to the bottom of the milestone issue,” Uthappa remarked on his YouTube page.
“I believe the message between KL Rahul and Pant would have been, ‘You know what, I think we need to take the attack on; we’re both set. If I can acquire my 100 before lunch, we can launch an attack on them right away, and you can hold fort Rishabh while I take the offensive, allowing us to fully eliminate these guys from the game. “That could have been the thought process,” he added.
I don’t think these numbers would matter for an Australian or an English player: Robin Uthappa
Uthappa opined that personal achievements like scoring centuries do not mean as much to Australian or English players as it does to the Indians. He blamed the Indian media and critics for making individual milestones seem like a big deal.
“I don’t think these numbers would matter for an Australian or an English player in the long run. But for an Indian player, it matters. A hundred matters. It means a lot more because it means a lot more to the Indian media and critics alike. So hundreds and milestones are a big thing,” said Uthappa.
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