‘International cricket demands respect to match situations’:Gambhir warns Pant, confirms India’s no.3 batter ahead of Afghanistan Test

In the pre-match press conference before the one-off Test against Afghanistan, India head coach Gautam Gambhir issued warning to Rishabh Pant on Friday. Men in Blue will face Afghans at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, from 9:30 AM onwards on Saturday. Gambhir backed former India Test vice-captain as a batter but was meticulous with his words to issue a warning as well after Pant was stripped of his ranks. Meanwhile, another statement from the India’s head coach that caught the attention of the media was the confirmed player number. 3 spot amid the debate in the cricketing community. He backed Sai Sudharsan despite his poor run in red-ball so far and the thriving popularity of Devdutt Padikkal for the same spot on the Playing XI. Gambhir’s indirect answer to Pant’s removal from vice-captaincy During the pre-match press conference, when media persons asked for Gautam Gambhir’s comment on Pant losing his Test vice-captaincy, the former did not answer directly. Rather, the Indian head coach said: “We don’t want Rishabh Pant to change, but international cricket demands players to respect match situations. The only responsibility is to play for India. Everything else is a by-product. Captaincy, vice-captaincy, these are all by-products.
“And ultimately, everyone is judged on performance. Whether it’s me, or any support staff, or any player. ” Along with the concerns around the demotion of Rishabh Pant in the Test squad, Gambhir also put an end to the debate around the no.3 spot in the Playing XI. It’s worth noting that Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan were in contention for that place in the Test team. Sai Sudharsan will be preferred over Padikkal: Gambhir ends the no.3 debate India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday said Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair run at the No.3 slot and indicated that the left-hander will be preferred over Devdutt Padikkal in the Test format ahead of the one-off game against Afghanistan. While talking to reporters, Gambhir said, “Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair chance. He played mostly in England, and I believe he needs to get a fair chance. We can (only) pick 11 (players), and Sai isn’t in bad form. He scored 700 runs in the IPL. If we judge Sai on the basis of 4-5 games, we will never be able to build something.” Team India to prepare four spinners for Sri Lanka tour Team India head coach also stated that the team will prepare four spinners for the tour of Sri Lanka in August. With Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey aiming for one spot as a left-arm spinner, Gambhir said India will need to prepare multiple spin bowling options for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka. He said, “This match gives us a chance to determine our fourth spinner as we will take four spinners in Sri Lanka.” Gambhir also understood that the team needs to prepare better for the New Zealand Tests and may pull out some ODI players who play Tests. Also Read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set to be picked for Team India:5 changes that could be seen in Men in Blue T20I setup Meanwhile, both teams have arrived in Chandigarh for tomorrow’s match. They have been engaged in practice for the past 3 days. During this time, Gautam Gambhir stated unequivocally that his accountability is not towards social media, but towards the 30 players sitting in the dressing room, with whom he works with complete honesty. He added, “I do not pay attention to social media’s criticism or praise.”