Gambhir Explains Why Rishabh Pant Lost the Test Vice-Captaincy

Gautam Gambhir has addressed the decision to remove Rishabh Pant as India’s Test vice-captain, saying the team supports him but wants more awareness of match situations.

The change

The move came when the BCCI announced the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. KL Rahul was named vice-captain, while Shubman Gill remains captain. Pant’s removal was among the main talking points of the announcement.

It came while Pant was having a hard time in the IPL, struggling as captain of Lucknow Super Giants and with the bat. He has also been absent from white-ball internationals for nearly two years.

The numbers

The 28-year-old has 3,476 runs in 49 Tests at an average of 42.91 and a strike rate of 74.23. His ODI average is 33.50 and falls to 23.25 in T20Is. His red-ball form has stayed strong, though. Last year he made 629 runs in seven Tests at 48.38, with two centuries and four fifties.

Gambhir’s view

Gambhir said India do not want Pant to change his approach, but that international cricket requires players to respect the situation of a match.

Pant’s attacking style has often turned games, but it has also led to some careless dismissals. One example came in the Melbourne Test against Australia, where he fell playing an unorthodox scoop shot and was criticised by Sunil Gavaskar.

Attention now turns to how he responds in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, which starts on Saturday, June 6, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.