Rishabh Pant’s style of play will never change. Leave it or take it. Regarding the biggest match-winner in the modern Test team, it is the prevailing sentiment in the Indian cricket scene.
The boundaries between heroism and lunacy have always been hazy in Pant’s game. Gautam Gambhir, Pant’s head coach, couldn’t be held responsible if he felt a sense of Deja vu on Monday when Pant charged down the track like a raging bull with the aim of dumping a Marco Jansen delivery from “Barsapara” to “Kaziranga Forests.”
The Indian captain had to exercise some prudence given the circumstances of the match, and the shot wasn’t on. Pant had attempted a similar shot a few deliveries before that dismissal, but was fortunate to miss it. It’s unclear if he had a serious talk with the head coach during the lunch break.
Looking back at the 2024 Boxing Day Test, Pant’s two dismissals only added fresh fuel to the long-running debate about his shot selection. The second-innings wicket, in particular, stood out: with India barely two hours away from saving the Test at the MCG, Pant chose to take on Travis Head’s part-time spin with a slog sweep — and picked out the fielder stationed precisely for that stroke.
Gambhir was furious back then, according to many in the Indian team’s inner circles. Because there was only one session remaining in the game, the instruction at the tea break was to bat normally and avoid taking unnecessary chances.
An angry Sunil Gavaskar yelled “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid” live on air during the first innings of that match after a foolish hook shot fell and found the third man. However, Pant thought that “valour was a better part of discretion” rather than the other way around, despite the fact that he is a minefield of skill and capable of doing things that others can’t even contemplate.
The now-famous Gambhir’s verbal lashing of the entire team following that MCG Test is legendary, but it did force Pant to display his defensive skills on a very challenging track during the first innings at Sydney. He reverted to the typical Pant in the second inning of the game, but this time he made better shots.
In Guwahati, Pant will have to consider his options due to the extra responsibility that has been placed on him in Shubman Gill’s absence.
Old-fashioned scrap when the moment calls for it hasn’t gone out of style, even though fearlessness, natural game, and following one’s instincts are undoubtedly the norm for modern cricketers. Pant would benefit greatly from understanding that a strong defence may sometimes set one up for the finest offence.
On days when it doesn’t work out, a high-risk percentage game can make one look quite foolish, as was the case with the captain, but everyone knows that he is better than that. The captain won’t be in a position to tell a Dhruv Jurel or a Sai Sudharsan to be more discreet if he doesn’t demonstrate how to evaluate the match circumstances.
He must be the one to initiate. There was no Gavaskar to call on air on Monday, but it wouldn’t hurt if Pant thought he might have been reprimanded for that stroke.
Pant will have one more chance to try to win the game and he is more than capable of achieving it. But in order to do that, he must acknowledge that there is a legitimate third option between winning and losing — a draw. That’s also not always a bad choice.
