IND vs SA: Stand-in captain Pant braces for high-stakes Guwahati Test

Rishabh Pant walked into the pre-match press conference on Friday wearing his trademark calm, but beneath the surface lay the weight of a moment many cricketers never experience — captaining India in a one-off Test under immense pressure. With South Africa holding a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, and Shubman Gill ruled out, Pant admitted the situation is far from ideal. Yet, he insisted he would not allow the scale of the occasion to cloud his judgement.

 

“One-off match is not best scenario for a captain but I am thankful to BCCI for giving me this honour,” Pant said, acknowledging the challenge but refusing to be overwhelmed. “Sometimes, if you think too much about a big occasion, it doesn't help.”

 

India, bruised by defeat at Eden Gardens, now enter a must-win contest in Guwahati with their season’s red-ball narrative at stake. 

 

Gill’s Exit: A blow India didn’t want

 

Shubman Gill’s absence hung heavy over India’s preparations. The opener suffered a neck spasm in the first Test and was later hospitalised, ruling him out of the decider. Pant revealed the replacement has already been finalised, though the management is keeping the decision under wraps.

 

“We have taken a decision on who will play in place of Shubman. The person who will play knows he is playing,” Pant said, hinting at clarity internally even as the think-tank maintained silence publicly.

 

Pant lauded Gill’s resolve, revealing that the regular captain pushed through discomfort in an attempt to make himself available.

 

“Shubman was keen to play the match. He showed resilience even when body was not permitting and that’s the attitude you want to see,” Pant said. “I am having a chat with Gill every day.”

 

Gill’s exit is not merely the loss of a top-order batter; it is the removal of a strategic anchor in a fragile batting line-up searching for rhythm and confidence.

 

Pant’s captaincy test: Calm head in a fiery cauldron

 

Pant, known for audacity with the bat and instinctive brilliance behind the stumps, now steps into a leadership role shaped by uncertainty. But if the magnitude of the responsibility bothered him, he refused to show it.

 

“I don’t want to over-think. We had a tough first Test and we need to do whatever is required to win the Test,” he said.

 

What stood out, however, was his vision for leadership. “I want to be conventional and also blend with out-of-box thinking. Want to have nice balance… We have to keep things simple and the team that plays better cricket will win it.”

 

It is a window into Pant’s philosophy: part calculated, part instinctive — very much like the player himself.

 

As India brace for a South African unit that outplayed them in Kolkata with discipline and conviction, Pant’s tactical clarity and temperament will be tested like never before.