Pant faces leadership test as India eye parity against South Africa
Rishabh Pant will captain India in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati after Shubman Gill was ruled out with neck spasms. India, vulnerable at home, aim to restore parity as Gambhir’s coaching calls face scrutiny
Guwahati: Rishabh Pant will walk into an immensely challenging leadership exam in the absence of Shubman Gill as India face the uphill task of restoring parity against a well-prepared South Africa on a surface expected to offer appreciable turn in the second and final Test starting here on Saturday.
An even tougher test looms for head coach Gautam Gambhir, whose often perplexing calls have left the dressing room and think-tank grappling for clarity.
The aura of invincibility at home that accompanied Indian teams over the last three decades has vanished, with the current side looking vulnerable. For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites.
If the New Zealand spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner tore the perception of invincibility to shreds in 2024, Simon Harmer and his colleagues are making a young Indian side look even more vulnerable. The lack of proper technique to handle spinners is apparent and jarring.
Gill was never in contention to play the second Test after suffering neck spasms, but the Indian team management and the BCCI, true to their nature of avoiding clarity till the last minute, denied the inevitable till it became undeniable. Sources said the 26-year-old has left the city to rest and recuperate.
Sai Sudharsan looks the most likely candidate to take Gill’s place, although whether he bats at No 3 or Washington Sundar continues remains to be seen.
Pant has some captaincy experience, having led India in T20s against South Africa when Rohit Sharma was rested, and also took Delhi to a Ranji Trophy final in 2017. But his red-ball leadership skills remain largely untested.
Experts will keenly watch his calls, especially after the Kolkata Test where India reduced South Africa to 93/7 by stumps on Day 2 but Pant delayed giving the ball to Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah the next morning, allowing Temba Bavuma to add 60 crucial runs.
With seven left-handers in India’s line-up, off-spinner Harmer could be a major threat if the grass covering is shaved off by curators Taposh Chatterjee and Ashish Bhowmick. One of Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav may make way for all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to balance the side.
Teams (from): India: Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep. South Africa: Temba Bavuma (capt), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne.
Match starts at 9 am.
