As Rishabh Pant prepares to play his 50th Test match against Afghanistan, the Indian wicketkeeper-batter appears to be embracing a more measured approach, seemingly heeding advice from head coach Gautam Gambhir. During India's training session ahead of the one-off Test in Mullanpur, Pant's body language and intent reflected a shift towards greater responsibility.
Gambhir's Influence on Pant's Approach
It is an open secret within Indian cricket circles that Gambhir was frustrated by Pant's reckless shot selection in India's previous red-ball outing against South Africa in Guwahati. Pant's dismissals in both innings became a major talking point, drawing criticism at a time when the team expected more from one of its senior players. Observers noted that during nets, Pant focused on rock-solid defence against spinners, with Gambhir closely monitoring from behind. The head-down copybook front-foot and backfoot defences were on display repeatedly, though occasional glorious hits still emerged.
Pant's Role as a Senior Player
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate shed light on the conversations between Gambhir and Pant. "I think he's committed to playing a good role model and senior player. I actually heard him and Gauti having a chat around that yesterday. 'How you want to conduct yourself as a senior player,' expanding to the communications or so, how you're going to play," ten Doeschate said when asked how Pant was adjusting to recent changes, including his removal from vice-captaincy. "I don't think he needs a formal title to be a leader in an elite setup like this, and I think Rishabh understands that."
Balancing Brilliance with Discipline
Pant's game often treads the fine line between heroism and harakiri, earning him both love and hate in equal measure. Ten Doeschate does not want to curb Pant's brilliance but emphasized the need to tone down impetuosity based on match situations. "With Rishabh's brilliance, we don't want to take away all the stuff that he does but occasionally if he can adjust his game to play the (match) situations slightly more, I think that's something you'll see him work on."
Pant's Happy Space
A happy Rishabh Pant off the field is a destructive one on it, Gambhir and ten Doeschate both know that. Ten Doeschate reiterated that Pant is in a happy space and that the change in vice-captaincy does not undermine his status as one of the seniormost players in the team—second only to KL Rahul in this squad. "He's been in great spirits again. He's always one of those guys who's happy and cheerful and sort of drives the spirit in the team and we've got no complaints from him. You wouldn't notice that his role in the leadership structure has changed, so no concerns about Rishabh, and I can't wait to see him play again," ten Doeschate concluded.
