Former India captain Sourav Ganguly believes Rishabh Pant will not survive the swinging English conditions during June and July 2023. The beginning of his Test journey took place seven years ago when he debuted his first match in England followed by an instant start.
His recovery from the injuries sustained during his 2022 car accident permitted Rishabh Pant to reclaim his role as India’s wicketkeeper. Rishabh Pant played a major role in the team’s New Zealand defeat when he scored many runs during his initial game back in Indian home conditions of the season.
But in the 2024–25 Border–Gavaskar series, the Southpaw was far from at his peak. He only managed 255 runs at an average of 28.33 in nine innings, struggling against Australia’s tremendous speed and bounce.
Pant received a lot of flak for choosing unconventional shots, but he used his typical aggressive style to score a fast fifty in the last Test match in Sydney.
Pant needs to develop the mindset to stay at the crease rather than seeking an easy way out, Ganguly recently said:
“[Rishabh] Pant has got to bite the bullet and play the swinging ball. You can not keep swinging all the time and expect to score runs in Test cricket. It is a mentality, determination, and grit,” Ganguly said during Trailblazers 3.0 by RevSportz (via Hindustan Times).
Rishabh Pant has already made two trips to England (in 2018 and 2021), amassing 556 runs at an average of 32.71 in 17 innings. With a magnificent 114 in the last Test of the 2018 tour and an incredible 146 in the postponed fifth Test at Edgbaston in 2022, he has amassed two hundreds in the nation.
Sourav Ganguly Confident in Virat Kohli’s Success During England Test Series
Team India’s 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) campaign will begin with the England tour. The Men in Blue will be looking to make a comeback in red-ball cricket after missing out on the final in the previous cycle.
Lack of runs from Virat Kohli’s bat has been a major factor in India’s red-ball problems. Despite recording a century in Perth during the Border-Gavaskar series, the outstanding batsman has been mainly unproductive since the domestic season began in September 2024, if not more.
Throughout his career, Kohli’s relationship with England has been erratic. His incredible 2018 campaign (593 runs in 10 innings) put an end to the memories of the terrible 2014 tour (134 runs in 10 innings). But in 2021, he had a lackluster trip, amassing just 249 runs at an average of 27.67 in five Test matches.
Ganguly encouraged the rest of the batting lineup to come up because he believes Kohli will have a say in the five-match series.
“They have the talent—Virat Kohli, the best in the business. I do not see him failing in five Test matches in England. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill—they need to step up. My only worry is that, other than Virat and Yashasvi, not many average more than 40 away from home. If you want to be a good Test team, three or four of your top six batters must be averaging close to 50 in Test matches.”
Sourav Ganguly
The start of India’s England trip is set for June 20 in Headingley, Leeds. Since 2007, the Men in Blue have failed to win a national red-ball series.
