India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant has cleared the air about his batting position ahead of the opening Test of the upcoming Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Addressing the media on Wednesday, June 18, Pant confirmed he will continue to bat at No. 5 — a position he has favoured in red-ball cricket.
During the same press conference, Pant also disclosed that new skipper Shubman Gill is set to bat at No. 4 in the first Test, scheduled to begin on Friday, June 20 at Headingley in Leeds. He added that the team is still undecided on who will occupy the No. 3 spot in the lineup.
“I think there is still some discussion going on around who will play at [number] three, but definitely, [numbers] four and five are fixed. Shubman [Gill] will bat at number four and I am going to stick to number five, as of now. As for the rest, we will continue discussing it,” said Pant.
“I’m not constantly thinking about it” – Rishabh Pant on pressuring bowlers
During the press conference, when asked about applying pressure on opposition bowlers, Rishabh Pant said it’s not something he constantly focuses on, adding that his approach depends on the match situation.
“It depends on the match situation. It always helps to put pressure, not just on the spinners but also on fast bowlers. However, as a cricketer, I am not thinking about that all the time, and I think it depends on how the game is going and how the game is unfolding. It just happens depending on the game situation; we try to play in that direction based on that,” said Pant.
On India’s 2021 tour of England, Rishabh Pant scored 349 runs in five Tests, finishing as India’s second-highest run-scorer. With one century and two fifties, he averaged over 38. As India undergoes a transition, expectations from him are high once again.
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