Pant talks up team camaraderie

London: At the start of the series opener in Leeds, new Indian captain Shubman Gill spoke at length about how his friendship — both on and off the field — with his deputy Rishabh Pant (in pic) will make his job easier, and their bonhomie is important to create a ‘loving and caring’ culture for a team in transition. 

Both Gill and Pant have walked the talk, constantly communicating, be it while batting together or when the Indian side is bowling. When batting, Pant has often been heard offering advice to Gill, and the skipper too hasn’t refrained from offering his words of wisdom when his deputy plays some outrageous shots. During bowling, Pant can be seen making field changes at times even when Gill is on the field. Sometimes even KL Rahul, one of the senior most players in the side, too has been heard giving pep talks during huddles.

Trusting each other

Pant, addressing the pre-match press conference on Thursday, spoke about good camaraderie is important for success. “Like I said before also, when you have a good camaraderie in a team, I think it eventually shows on the field, and that is exactly what happens. Sometimes people trust each other, it is easier to do the same thing, the communication is better on the ground, and hopefully, we can do the same thing with our whole team going forward and just make it a working unit.”

After doling out two flat pitches, it appears England are preparing a much sportier track for the third Test, considering how Indian batters too have dominated. When asked if India feel like a mini battle has been won in forcing England to alter their plans, Pant said their goal is to counter whatever the opposition throws at them.

“As a team, we plan for whatever the condition is given to us. We don’t want to think about what the opposition is thinking. Are they changing their plan or not? Whatever they are doing, we will do our best and do better from there.”

Pant’s breathtaking batting has been a puzzle nobody has been able to solve. While it may appear reckless at times, there’s a method to his madness, with even batting coach Sitanshu Kotak saying the wicketkeeper does a lot of planning before he steps out to bat every time. When asked about being hailed as a momentum-shifter, Pant just played a simple forward defence.

“For me personally, I try to have a very clear mindset when I’m batting. Just playing one ball at a time, that is something which has really helped me. But personally, what the other team is thinking, yes, I do have an idea of what they want me to do. But eventually, you have to have that self-discipline. How are you going to counter it? You have to make your own plans and just play the game.”