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India vice-captain Rishabh Pant was seen in a jovial mood before leaving for England for the upcoming five-match Test series against Ben Stokes and his men starting from June 20. Pant, who struggled to be among the runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, will look to be disciplined in India whites to fulfill his responsibility efficiently. India haven’t won any red-ball series in England since 2007 and they will expect their marquee players to step up to pull off the task which they couldn’t in the last four Test series on English soil. Pant’s role will be to assist young captain Shubman Gill to chalk out plans against the home side, who are highly likely to attack the visitors with ‘Bazball’ playing style.
Before leaving for England, Pant was spotted by the paparazzo at the Mumbai airport. The 27-year-old was quizzed by a media person about Rohit Sharma’s whereabouts. “Rohit Sharma sir kidhar hai (Where is Rohit Sharma sir)?” asked the paparazzo. Responding to the question, Pant replied, “Garden mein ghoom rahe hai. (He is roaming in the garden)."
Rishabh Pant’s current Test form and batting numbers in England
Rishabh Pant hasn’t been in great form recently in Test cricket. In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, he scored 255 runs in nine innings of five matches at an average of 28.33. Talking about his Test performance in England, he has played nine contests in which he has hoarded 556 runs in 17 innings.
In the previous tour to England, he looked fine with his bat, scoring 349 runs with a hundred and two fifties in nine innings of five matches. His batting performance was vital for India to level the series against the English side by 2-2 for the first time after 2007. In the final Test played in Birmingham in July 2022, he also smashed 146 in the first innings but his knock went in vain as India lost the game by seven wickets. Rohit Sharma emerged as the highest run-getter for India in the series then, racking up 368 runs in eight innings of four Tests.
