"We don't want Rishabh Pant..." - Gautam Gambhir's Big Statement Ahead of Afghanistan Test

The Only Test between India and Afghanistan is about to start at New Chandigarh from June 6. A day ahead of the match, India head coach Gautam Gambhir gave a big statement on the team's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant.

Pant has been a key part of India's Test side despite not playing white-ball international cricket regularly. He has a good record in this format, which makes him one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world. The statement of Gautam Gambhir on Rishabh Pant shows that the team still believes in him to win games.

"We don't want Rishabh Pant..." - Gautam Gambhir Ahead of IND vs AFG Test

During the press conference, Gautam Gambhir was asked on the role of Rishabh Pant in the Tests going forward. The India head coach doesn't want Pant to change his naturally aggressive game but stressed on the need to play according to the situation.

Gautam Gambhir press conference gave other inputs about India's playing 11 for this match. It is expected that the team might prefer Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 after his excellent IPL season.

Pant is a highly talented batter who likes to take on the opposition bowlers with an aggressive mindset. His methods have given him immense success in this format, however, it has also resulted in his wicket during crunch situations at times.

Rishabh Pant batting position during the IND vs AFG Test is likely to remain the same. He has batted at No. 5 for most part of his Test career and has found success as well. The left-handed batter offers great flexibility to this line-up with his ability to counter-attack whenever his team needs to.

It is unusual to see Pant having success in the Tests rather than the ODIs and the T20Is. However, he has excelled in the purest format of the game and is one of the best Test batsmen going around. India will need to him to keep performing in Tests if they are to regain their supremacy in the red-ball format.

Rishabh Pant's First Match After Being Removed From Vice Captaincy

This will be Pant's first match since being removed as India's vice-captain in Test cricket. He was Shubman Gill's deputy since India's tour of England 2025. However, he was removed from the position so that he can fully focus on his natural batting style with KL Rahul taking his spot.

The Indian team management does not want Pant to get bogged down to the pressure of vice-captaincy and play his natural game. Currently, he averages 43 with the bat in Tests having scored close to 3,500 runs with 8 hundreds and 18 fifties.