IND vs AFG: Ten Doeschate backs Pant amidst vice-captaincy axing, lean run of form
Rishabh Pant might have lost the vice-captaincy of India’s Test team due to his spiralling form but assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate on Thursday reaffirmed the wicketkeeper’s importance in the unit.
Pant’s meagre haul of 49 runs from four innings against the South Africa last year prompted the management to relieve him of his leadership duties. His credentials took a bigger hit with an underwhelming season for Lucknow Super Giants in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
“I don’t think you need a formal title to be a leader in an elite setup like this and I think Rishabh understands that and he is committed to being a good role model and a senior player. I actually heard him and Gauti having a chat around that yesterday and how you want to conduct yourself as a senior player,” ten Doeschate said ahead of the Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.
During last year’s Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and the preceding Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, Pant’s exuberant approach came under the scanner despite a steady stream of runs. Ten Doeschate said that reading the situation and tempering his approach would help Pant flourish even more.
“If he can adjust his game to play the situation slightly more, I think that is something you will see him work on. But he has been in great spirits again, he is always one of those guys who is happy and cheerful and sort of drives the spirit in the team.”
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Besides helping Pant regain his mojo, finding a fix to the revolving door at No. 3 will also be on the agenda for India. Since Cheteshwar Pujara called time on his career, India has used six options at one-down and none has done enough to grab the position.
Shubman Gill had the longest time in this position but with his switch to No. 4 since becoming captain, the team has been left with finding a suitor in one of Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal.
“There have been a lot of changes in that spot and that is not ideal. I think you need to look at the incumbents for that role and maybe stick with someone. It is a difficult position to bat and a very important one at that. Devdutt comes in with a ton of runs in domestic cricket across all the formats and obviously Sudharsan has had a nice IPL with Gujarat so they are both in good form. I think whoever plays, they will be given a bit of rope.
“I think whoever plays, they will be given a bit of rope. It is quite difficult with one test match now and then we don’t play a test match for another two months and then you play two test matches and then you don’t play for a while. So we need to factor that in. I think the main point is we want to make a decision and then trust that person to grow into the role and ideally quickly,” ten Doeschate said.
Getting its act together is important for India and its World Test Championships aspirations. After a 0-2 drubbing at the hands of South Africa last year, India is languishing in sixth place with a point percentage of just 48.15.
The Afghanistan game will be an assessment before the side gears up for bigger challenges away against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and then Australia at home.
But hitting the straps in the sapping heat of June is no mean feat after a two-month IPL window.
On how the team is gearing up for the Test, ten Doeschate said: “The IPL time cycle is so different to what Test matches require. The guys have had three days to do it. Obviously, there was an early training session yesterday. Today is afternoon; tomorrow will be morning again. I think guys have taken it upon themselves to get up early. Adrian [Le Roux] scheduled some gym stuff early morning just to force guys to get up and adjust their time slot. These guys are good professionals. They know what is required and they will be adjusting accordingly.”
Published on Jun 04, 2026
