Rishabh Pant, Gautam Gambhir
New Delhi: India coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday stressed that Rishabh Pant does not need to change his natural batting style but should play according to the demands of the match situation, echoing comments made a day earlier by assistant coach Ryan ten Deutsche.Pant was removed as India’s Test vice-captain when the BCCI announced the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan last month. Speaking ahead of the match starting Saturday in New Chandigarh, Gambhir said he continues to support the wicket-keeper but expects him to judge situations better.
“We don’t want Rishabh Pant to change, but international cricket requires players to respect match situations,” Gambhir said in the pre-match press conference.His comments came a day after Ten Doeschate spoke about Pant’s approach to batting and leadership.“With Rishabh’s form, we don’t want to take away all the things he does, but sometimes if he can adjust his game to play (match) situations a little bit more, I think that’s something you will see him work on.”“I don’t think he needs an official title to be captain in an elite squad like this, and I think Rishabh understands that,” Ten Dewichat said of the decision to sack Pant as vice-captain.
Read also: For Rishabh Pant, the important 50th Test is another starting pointPant, 28, is set to play his 50th Test when India takes on Afghanistan. In 49 Tests, he scored 3,476 runs at an average of 42.91 and a strike rate of 74.24, including eight centuries and 18 half-centuries.The historic match comes after a difficult period for Pant. He endured a poor season in IPL 2026 as batsman and captain for Lucknow Super Giants and also lost the Vice-Captain’s Test to KL Rahul.During the Test series against South Africa and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Pant’s attacking style has come under scrutiny at times.The Afghanistan Test now provides him with an opportunity to return his focus to red-ball cricket and make an impact with the bat as India embark on another Test stint.