Before India’s tour of England, Sourav Ganguly had expressed concerns about Rishabh Pant, whom he had earlier called India’s best Test batsman. Ganguly wasn’t impressed with Pant’s performance in Australia during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said Pant was taking too many risks with his shots and told him to be more cautious and play some less flashy innings. Ganguly believes Pant has a solid defensive technique and he should rely more on that.
“He’s a very good player, but he needs to go back to the style that worked for him in the past. I watched him in Australia and I wasn’t a fan of what I saw—too many wild shots. The conditions were tricky in some places. He definitely has the talent, but it’s about how he applies himself. I want to see him fight more. Yes, he has a good defence, so he should focus on that,” Ganguly told RevSportz.
On the Australia tour, Pant scored 255 runs in nine innings with an average of 28.33 with just one fifty. There were questions about his shot selection. He had made a comeback last year after a long break with a hundred against Bangladesh and was the top scorer in India’s home series against New Zealand though they lost 3-1. Overall, Pant has played 43 Tests, scored 2948 runs at an average of 42.1 with six hundreds and 15 fifties.
In England, he has a good record with two hundreds, more than any visiting wicket-keeper. In eight matches there, he scored 511 runs at an average of 34.06. This tour of England will also be a new chapter for Pant as he will be playing as vice-captain with Shubman Gill as captain.