The absence of the retired Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli aside, the No.3 position in Team India’s batting order is another talking point ahead of their five-Test series in England.
Who bats at No.3 will be clear when the series opener at Headingley gets underway on Friday. But at present, it’s still not finalised, said vice-captain Rishabh Pant.
However, captain Shubman Gill and his deputy Pant are more or less confirmed to bat at No .4 and 5, respectively.
“There’s still discussion going on as to who’s going to bat at No.3. But (Nos.) 4 and 5 are definitely fixed.
“I think Shubman (Gill) is going to bat at 4, and I am going to stick to No.5 as of now. As for the rest (of the line-up), we’ll continue discussing that,” Pant said on Wednesday.
The buzz is that Sai Sudharsan could bat at No.3 on his debut, though the team management also has comeback man Karun Nair in their plans.
No matter who goes in at No.3, it’s imperative that both Gill and Pant, along with openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, make a sizeable contribution given their experience among the current group of specialist batters. However, according to Pant, his “camaraderie” with skipper Gill even off the field should play an effective role in benefiting the team.
“Shubman and I have a really good camaraderie off the field. If you’re good friends off the field, it eventually comes off on the field as well. That is something I’ve always believed,” Pant emphasised.
“He and I gel really well together. We keep on having conversations, and the kind of comfort zone we have with each other, I think that is really going to be special for us.”
Given the current form of India’s batting line-up, Pant certainly has a bigger role to play, a role that involves a lot more responsibility. But, despite being a designated vice-captain, the left-handed batsman has not changed his mindset.
“I haven’t changed my mindset,” Pant asserted. “I’ve got more authority now, but at the same time, I’m not thinking about it too much.
“I can contribute to Shubi from my side. I’ll put forward my best foot and eventually, we’ll see what happens.”
Like a little bit of inexperience in India’s batting group, England too face a similar situation when it comes to their bowling attack.
Acknowledging that it “feels good” that India no longer have to face James Anderson and Stuart Broad, Pant is also aware of not taking the current English bowling group lightly.
“Definitely, it feels so good when both (Anderson and Broad) are not there. But at the same time, they (England) have enough ammunition in their bowling attack.
“We don’t want to take anyone lightly because our team is also young. They’re still looking to develop themselves. However, we’ve got to play our cricket and respect the bowlers and the opposition overall, where it needs to be,” the keeper-batsman explained.
Pant also said that his teammates and he will keep the tragic Ahmedabad air crash in their minds, promising to make India “a lot happier place” again with stellar performances in the coming Tests against England.