Rishabh Pant set to lose leadership role with Indian Test team after poor run as captain: Report

Senior wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is in danger of getting sacked as vice-captain of the Indian Test team ahead of their one-off match against Afghanistan later this summer.

Pant had been named Shubman Gill's deputy after the latter succeeded Rohit Sharma as India's Test skipper ahead of the tour of England last year. The board, however, has reportedly lost confidence in the 28-year-old's leadership skills after failing to lead Lucknow Super Giants into the playoffs in consecutive seasons of the Indian Premier League.

Pant didn't have much success leading the Delhi Capitals either before being bought by LSG for a record price, leading them into the playoffs just once in four seasons between 2021 and 2024.

However, it was India's 0-2 whitewash against South Africa in their last Test assignment that appears to have sealed the BCCI's decision in favour of relieving Pant of the leadership role. The keeper-batter, after all, was in charge for a majority of the series after Gill was sidelined due to a neck issue, with the Indian team suffering a second Test whitewash on home soil in the span of a year.

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BCCI keen on preserving Rishabh Pant the match-winner

According to sources, the BCCI is keen on ensuring Pant focuses on his batting form and continues to deliver match-winning knocks with his unorthodox batting approach in the red-ball format.

"Indian cricket simply cannot afford to lose a batting match-winner like Rishabh. He has won and set-up Test matches with his aggressive batting. There is a growing feeling among men who matter that whenever he has been entrusted with additional responsibility, he doesn't seem to make good decisions while batting," a BCCI source was quoted by news agency Press Trust of India as saying.

Besides losing vice-captaincy in the Test format, Pant also faces uncertainty in the ODI setup, where he has been the second-choice keeper-batter behind KL Rahul. Ishan Kishan, who had made a triumphant return to the Indian team in the shortest format in January and later starred in the T20 World Cup triumph, is being backed to replace him in the 50-over setup.

India play a one-off Test against Afghanistan that takes place between 6 to 10 June which then will be followed by three ODIs taking place on 14, 17 and 20 June – where batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be the central attraction. The squads for the upcoming home series, India's first assignment after the ongoing IPL season, is expected to be announced by Tuesday, 19 May.