2nd Test: Pant, the accidental captain, does not want his men to overthink

There is never a dull moment with Rishabh Pant around. Fresh from making a comeback to international cricket after nearly 100 days due to an injury in the first Test, he has been suddenly pitchforked at the helm as the 38^th Test captain for India in a high stakes battle against South Africa in Guwahati from Saturday.

The unveiling of Pant as the stand-in captain on Friday was done under somewhat awkward circumstances –  what with batting coach Sitangshu Kotak saying a day before that a final decision on Shubman Gill’s availability will be taken only this evening. In reality, the decision to release Gill was taken on Thursday itself after the Test captain accompanied the squad to Guwahati the day before and he would travel to Mumbai to consult a specialist on the future course of action for the neck spasm.

It’s however not an enviable job to be in Pant’s shoes. Down 1-0 in a two-Test series, the margin of error is minimal for him as they are staring a first-ever series loss to South Africa at home in 25 years. While the dashing keeper-batter was candid enough to admit that they would have loved to play a longer series, he does not want his team members to ‘’overthink’’ about the must-win situation and invite undue pressure.

While Pant has been no stranger to national captaincy, having led in T20Is and been a leader of at least two IPL franchises, managing the expectations as India captain in a Test match is a different ballgame. The curiosity over who will bat at number four in place of Gill is an overriding one while it will be also interesting to watch his approach as a skipper - as the 28-year-old is still a work in progress on this front.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Pant said he wanted to be a mix of the conventional and outside the box in his approach to leadership. “I want to be someone who gives that freedom. I want the players to learn and make the right decision for the team eventually,” said Pant.

“I feel in red-ball cricket, because it goes longer period of time, you know, small tactical changes you can overcome because it gives you time in the game. But at the same time, you have to keep your emotions in check and don’t let the game drift away from you for too long. You try to be as close to the game during the pressure situation. That’s the idea,” said Pant, who has happy memories of the Barsapara Stadium where international cricket shifted since it’s inauguration in 2017. This is the venue where Pant made his ODI debut as a 20-year-old in 2018 and now gets a chance to show that he has come of age as a leader.  

Despite Gill becoming a doubtful starter for the second Test at the beginning of this week itself, Gautam Gambhir & Co betrayed a stubbornness in not sending a SoS for a right handed batter –  with decent options available an in-form Karun Nair or the neglected Sarfaraz Khan as a case of horses for courses. All they did was calling back seaming allrounder Nitish Reddy from his India A duties as given the binding of grass on this track, he is all set to get a look-in at the playing XI as the third seamer alongwith Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Asked how will they cope with the problem of having far too many left-handers in the side – after off spinner Simon Harmer proved to be a handful for them in Eden – Pant felt: “We have taken into consideration [the problem of] having a lot of left-handers in the batting lineup. We will announce it tomorrow. We have taken it [the decision] because the person who’s going to play, he already knows he’s going to play,” said Pant.

A confident Temba Bavuma, meanwhile, refuted a query as to whether they would be content with a draw here as it would give them the series 1-0. Light fades early in this part of the world – which often results in a daily loss of overs – and the BCCI has improvised  a schedule of an early start at 9 am instead of 9.30 am and calling for ‘tea’ at the end of first session and ‘lunch’ after the second session.

‘’Our mindset will not be about protecting the lead. We are going to be ruthless with whatever opportunities we get,’’ Bavuma maintained.

 Catch the Match

 India vs South Africa

 Second Test, Guwahati

 Start: 9 am IST