He also spoke about how he would have handled Pant if he were the captain of the team.
India will kickstart their new World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle on Friday as they lock horns with England in the first Test of the five-match series. The upcoming series will also mark the new era of the Indian team under the leadership of young Shubman Gill. Fans will be able to witness a new transition since the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have retired from the longest format of the game. While Gill will do the captaincy duties, Rishabh Pant will be assisting him as the vice-captain.
Most likely, Pant will come out to bat at No.5. His intent and temperament will be tested during the England Test series. Pant, who is known for his aggressive style of play, did not have a good outing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Depending on one’s perspective, Pant can be a careless or a fearless player based on his shot-making decisions. Many former cricketers have questioned his decision-making skills under pressure. But Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar has encouraged Pant to back his instincts. He also stressed that the young left-hander should play with a lot of responsibility if he wants to show his potential in the red ball format.
“He [Pant] should back his instincts most of the time. But there’ll be situations where he’ll have to curb his game in the interests of the team. If there are times when you’re looking to save the game, then he may have to adapt that defensive approach, for let’s say an hour or 45 minutes or sometimes two hours, where he’ll have to just take those risky shots out of the game and not be as aggressive. He could be positive, but the shot selection will come into play”, Tendulkar said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
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The former Indian cricketer also spoke about how he would have handled Pant if he were the captain of the team. He said that he would have given Pant a free hand to go after the bowlers, but when it came to save the game, he wanted the southpaw to bat with responsibility.
“Nine out of 10 times, if I’m the captain, I’ll say, ‘Just go out and play your game, why worry about anything.’ If you’re looking to save the game, that is when the approach changes a bit, but otherwise I would tell him that you go out and be yourself and do what you feel is in the best interest of the team,” added Tendulkar.
The Indian team is gearing up for the first Test match against England, starting on Friday in Leeds. A lot of things will be at stake, citing the fact that this time the onus is on young and raw batter Gill, who is leading the team for the first time when it comes to the longest format of the game.
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