Please back Rishabh Pant the leader

Images posted by Rishabh Pant on Thursday night from Guwahati, where he is expected to lead India against South Africa conveyed warmth, bonhomie. They say, a photo says more than 1,000 words. I had the good fortune to interact briefly with Pant in March 2019, when, as President of the Delhi Sports Journalists Association, we had chosen him as the ‘best’ male athlete. At the awards presentation, Pant came and left after collecting his award. He did interact briefly with a few folks. But that one meeting was enough to suggest he is a simpleton, full of joy.

From 2019 to 2025, the stock of Pant has soared, for cricketing reasons as well as what he has achieved in so many ways. Pant is a fighter, someone who battled death in December 2022, when he was involved in a high-speed crash near Dehradun. His miraculous surgeries, , recovery, and return to cricket is divine. Again, in 2025, he fractured his foot in England. The long absence from cricket and return has been defining. Uniquely, he does not believe in giving up.

People criticise him for being careless, please appreciate his daring, bold, and being a bloke who lightens the mood. He has had tough moments with coach Gautam Gambhir as well. And as he is going to lead India in the absence of injured Shubman Gill in the second Test, starting Saturday, Pant has shown he can bond with one and all. He jokes, as well, yet he is a dead serious cricketer.

People say his batting methods are dangerous. But then, has his daredevilry not worked for India so many times. Today, it’s not about stars and egos, Pant brings that zing on the field when he is keeping wickets. He will chat with the bowlers, engage with the fielders. Indeed, the energy flow will be high and the stump microphone chatter will be always chirpy. If you don’t like this, then you don’t like characters who bring high energy into sports in the field of play. After all, despite his tantrums, tennis fans over the decades still loved to watch the tantrums thrown by John McEnroe, when he would rage and even take on the chair umpires.

Pant is a loveable character who will insulate the players from pressure. When he dons the keeping gloves, the batter at the crease is going to be tested with jokes and more! It’s not a habit, it’s a trait. Yes, the situation is serious, India are down 0-1 in the short series against Temba Bavuma’s boys, but that’s due to mulish decisions from coach Gautam Gambhir.

The mood has to be livened up and Pant can produce that energy. There is no point trying to be somber, mourn, after losing a Test. Pant the leader can be unconventional, and leadership is not alien to him. He will ensure there is calm and bonding. In fact, he should have been named Test captain ahead of Gill.

Nevertheless, Pant has got his chance back again. The grapevine says he could even lead in the ODIs against SA. Don’t ask why, he is leadership material. Period. Interestingly, there has been a strange shadow boxing contest on between Pant and Shreyas Iyer since old days in Delhi Capitals. Shreyas is still on the path to recovery after that spleen laceration scare in Sydney, where he was hospitalised.

Does the Indian team resemble soldiers and warriors who have got injured in battles? Well, most of them are not due to being hurt by bowlers but fitness breakdowns or accidents on the field. Pant has seen it all, so he will ensure there is positivity. Karma gives Rishabh Pant another chance, back him.