Rishabh Pant arrives on England shores with a point to prove in the 5-test match series starting on Friday. The 27-year-old is no longer the trailblazing youngster and has been promoted to vice-captain for the India vs England series. Leadership has not been his strongest suit in recent times, and how India’s wicket-keeper performs could go a long way in defining the IND vs ENG series.
What makes Rishabh Pant so crucial in Test cricket?
Rishabh Pant has been a mainstay in the Indian team since making his Test debut in 2018. He has two centuries in England, including a marvellous 146 in his last Test in the country. Pant’s absence due to an accident saw India scramble for options with KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel all featuring at different junctures.
Now vice-captain, Rishabh Pant confirmed he would bat at No.5. It is a position he has occupied in the past couple of years with great success. In 26 innings at No.5, the left-hander has 1301 runs, averaging a stunning 54.20. He has 9 fifties and 2 centuries, and has scored at a brisk pace of 82.34. Should Pant get settled, it is likely that India dominate with bat in hand.
Pant has managed to gel aggression with consistency in the longest format. Since 2020, the 27-year-old has been India’s leading run-scorer in the format, with 2194 runs at an average of 41.39. The fact that Pant still tops the list despite missing more than 18 months of action underlines his importance to the Test side. In the 43 Tests that he has played, all top-six batters have averaged 31.33. Pant averages 42.11.
Most runs for India in Tests since 2020
PlayerInnsRunsHSAveSR10050Rishabh Pant57219414641.3974.65413Rohit Sharma6321601613655.0368Virat Kohli69202818630.7248.8539Shubman Gill59189312835.0559.9257Yashasvi Jaiswal361798214*52.8865.66410Rishabh Pant’s ascension to leadership comes at a time when his skills have been called into question. In the recently concluded IPL 2025, the 27-year-old was central to Lucknow Super Giants’ struggles. After being bought for a record Rs 27 crore, Rishabh had only 1 innings of substance, scoring a century in the final game of the season. His LSG side finished 7th and were knocked out of the playoffs race before the final two games of the season.
Pant struggled to juggle the responsibilities of being a captain and a player, while the pressure of an enormous price tag also played its part. This came after a middling Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. While he was central to India’s triumph in 2021, he managed just one 50+ score in the 5 Tests.
Pressure on Pant – the leader?
Pant was vice-captain when he played in Bangladesh before his accident. He was being groomed a potential Test captain under both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Now both have retired but the baton has been passed to his junior in Shubman Gill. He is now just a senior batter, despite being one of India’s best performers in the format. He is, however, keen not to let the seniority affect his batting.
“See it’s extracted responsibility, but at the same time when you are in the middle of the ground, you are not thinking, ‘Oh, I’m the vice-captain. I’m the senior player.’ You’re just a batsman in the middle. You’ve got to do the best you can from your side, and eventually the game will take care of itself,” Pant said in the press conference before the IND vs ENG 1st Test.
With the emergence of Dhruv Jurel, Pant is not as secure in his spot in the team. The youngster smashed 3 fifties for India A against England Lions and has averaged 40 in his nascent Test career for India. Should Pant struggle, India does have options, which were not always the case in the past. The IND vs ENG series thus comes at a point where Rishabh Pant needs to step out of the shadows.
Pressure on ‘senior pro’ Rishabh Pant in England after captaincy debacle Inside Sport India.
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