Gambhir makes new demand from Pant after he loses vice-captaincy role: 'How you want to conduct yourself…’

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has urged wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant to step up and deliver as a senior after losing the role of vice-captain recently, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate revealed ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh.

Pant had been named captain Shubman Gill's deputy ahead of the tour of England, only to be removed from the role a year later, the decision being confirmed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar during India's squad announcement for the upcoming multi-format series.

Also Read | Agarkar explains Pant losing vice-captaincy, Sooryavanshi's omission and Bumrah resting

His ouster from the role was seen as an outcome of his poor leadership in Gill's absence during the Test series against South Africa in late 2025, as well as with Lucknow Super Giants in the last couple of seasons of the Indian Premier League.

More from Firstcricket

Pant, however, remains the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Test format, even if his form and confidence has taken a beating in recent months, and coach Gambhir will be hopeful of him continuing to exhibit leadership traits and remain a role model for his teammates.

"I think he’s committed to playing a good role model and senior player. I actually heard him and Gauti (Gambhir) having a chat around that yesterday. ‘How you want to conduct yourself as a senior player’, expanding to the communications or so, how you’re going to play,” ten Doeschate told reporters at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, which will be hosting the India-Afghanistan Test starting Saturday.

“I don’t think he needs a formal title to be a leader in an elite setup like this, and I think Rishabh understands that," the former Netherlands all-rounder continued.

Pant working on adjusting his game to 'play the situations'

Ten Doeschate also revealed that while the team management doesn't want to curb Pant's natural game, they have been advising the southpaw to be a little careful about his shot-selection in tight situations.

"With Rishabh’s brilliance, we don’t want to take away all the stuff that he does but occasionally if he can adjust his game to play the (match) situations slightly more, I think that’s something you’ll see him work on.

"He’s been in great spirits again. He’s always one of those guys who’s happy and cheerful and sort of drives the spirit in the team and we’ve got no complaints from him. You wouldn’t notice that his role in the leadership structure has changed, so no concerns about Rishabh, and I can’t wait to see him play again," ten Doeschate added.

The one-off Test marks the Team India's return to the red-ball format since November, when they had suffered a 0-2 sweep at the hands of South Africa – their second home whitewash in the format in the span of a year.

The one-off Test against Afghanistan, however, is not part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship, in which Shubman Gill's men find themselves at the sixth spot with a points percentage of 48.15.