Rishabh Pant will walk into an immensely challenging leadership exam in the absence of Shubman Gill as India face the uphill task of restoring parity against a well-prepared South Africa on a surface that is expected to offer appreciable turn in the second and final Test starting in Guwahati on Saturday.
An even tougher test looms for head coach Gautam Gambhir, whose often perplexing calls have left the dressing room and think-tank grappling for clarity. The aura of invincibility while playing at home that accompanied the Indian teams of last three decades has vanished when it comes to the current one, which is looking vulnerable.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be. If the New Zealand spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner tore the perception of invincibility to shreds in 2024, Simon Harmer and his other colleagues are making a young Indian side look even more vulnerable.
The lack of a proper technique to handle spinners is apparent and jarring. Add to it, a massive shift in mindset on tracks that implode, has made matters worse. While Gambhir, with support of men who matter in the BCCI, is perfectly safe when it comes to his job, a 0-5 home record against two SENA countries will damage his coaching legacy forever, and no amount of ICC Trophies would be enough to paper over that aspect.
And in these trying circumstances, Pant will take up leadership in the absence of Gill. He would know quite well that his batting on a red soil Barsapara track will be as important as his decision-making.
That Gill was never in contention to play the second Test after suffering from neck spasms was always clear, but the Indian team management and the BCCI, true to their nature of avoiding clarity till the last minute, denied the inevitable till it became undeniable. According to reliable sources, the 26-year-old has left the city to rest and recuperate.
Sai Sudharsan looks to be the most likely candidate to take Gill's place, although whether he bats at No.3 or Washington Sundar is allowed to continue remains to be seen.
When it comes to captaincy experience, Pant led an Indian T20 team against the same opponents a few years back when Rohit Sharma was rested. But there isn't enough data on his red-ball decision-making skills. Pant did lead a Delhi side to a Ranji Trophy final back in 2017, losing to eventual champions Vidarbha.
However, what would keep experts more interested is the calls he took on the second evening and third morning of the opening Test in Kolkata. By stumps on the second evening, India had reduced South Africa to 93 for 7 with help of spinners. What left a lot to be desired was Pant's eternal wait before handing the ball to Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning. By that time, Temba Bavuma had added those additional 60 runs which became decisive.
While Pant, the lively chatterbox behind the stumps, is an incentive for the bowlers, it is Pant the skipper who will have to convince his coach to make some prudent calls when it comes to team selection.
With too many left-handers in the line-up — as many as seven — off-spinner Simon Harmer might just have a field day if the covering of grass that was seen on the track on Thursday is shaved off by BCCI curators Taposh Chatterjee and Ashish Bhowmick.
In any case, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia wouldn't want this venue's first ever Test to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Hence, one of the spinners — Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav — could make way for all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, which can help India exploit any underlying moisture if a third seamer comes into play.
In case his bowling isn't required, being a right-hander with a cavalier approach to batting might just help on these kinds of surfaces. But in the end, it all boils down to faith in players instead of being a slave of the surface.
When it comes to trust, the head coach, for once, would like to walk the talk before another lost home series which will have way more implications than he can ever think of.
Teams (from):
India: Rishabh Pant (captain and wk), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne.
Match Starts at 9 am.
