table of contents
The India national cricket team will take on the Afghanistan national cricket team in a one-off Test at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh on Saturday. The Men in Blue team has returned to the traditional format for the first time after the defeat against South Africa under the captaincy of Rishabh Pant at home last year.
Since then, a lot of things have changed for the team, as Rishabh Pant has been dropped from the vice-captaincy role due to his recent form, with KL Rahul being handed the responsibility for the upcoming series. The southpaw had a very poor season as captain of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2026. His team remained at the bottom of the table.
Rishabh Pant will be seen in a new role!
However, it is a different format where he has been one of India’s best batsmen in recent years. Ahead of the Test match, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has made bold comments regarding Rishabh Pant’s vice-captaincy controversy and said that he has no problem with being removed from the role.
While speaking, Ryan also stressed that the team and management want the left-handed batsman to adjust his game as per the demand of the situation, as he has often been a risk taker, known for his unorthodox batting even in the oldest format of the game, which has brought him considerable success and runs in SENA countries.
You don’t need a formal title – Ryan Ten Doeschate
“You don’t need any formal title to be a leader. We need to adjust our game to suit the situation,” Douchet told reporters in New Chandigarh. He also said, “There is no complaint from Rishabh’s side on being removed from the post of vice-captain.”
Pant has scored 3,476 runs in 49 Test matches at an average of 42.91. While his aggressive style has helped India win games, he has sometimes been punished for taking unnecessary chances and being careless. The wicketkeeper-batsman struggled during India’s recent home Test series against South Africa, scoring 49 runs at an average of 12.25.
A big milestone for him – Rishabh Pant’s coach
Despite being dropped from the vice-captaincy, Pant remains a member of India’s 15-man squad for the Afghanistan Test. He will be looking to regain his form in the upcoming series and also play some good cricket as per the team’s needs so that he can retain his place in the team as the competition for him has increased.
Rishabh Pant also resigned from the LSG captaincy role after two poor seasons in a row. He will join MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani on Saturday in the elite list of wicketkeepers, and become the third keeper to play 50 Test matches for India.
Ahead of the Test match, his childhood coach Devender Sharma said, “This is a huge milestone for him. It’s a huge thing for Rishabh to be on the verge of playing his 50th Test match as a wicketkeeper-batsman for India. It must be remembered that the IPL is a white-ball tournament, whereas Test cricket is played with the red ball, which is what makes both the formats different.
Also read: Liam Livingstone’s IPL future in doubt after brutal attack on ‘boring’ tournament and flat pitches
