Sourav Ganguly urges Rishabh Pant to back his defense on England tour

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly wants Rishabh Pant to change his game plan on the England tour. Ganguly said Pant can not swing his bat all the time and he needs to bat with more responsibility in the red-ball version. The left-hander didn’t have a great tour of Australia, scoring 255 runs in five Test matches at an average of 28.33.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant had scored only 146 runs in four Test matches on the 2021 tour of England at an average of 20.86. Ganguly reckons the aggressive southpaw will need to bat with guile in difficult English conditions.

“[Rishabh] Pant has got to bite the bullet and play the swinging ball. You can not keep swinging all the time and expect to score runs in Test cricket. It is a mentality, determination, and grit,” Ganguly said during Trailblazers 3.0 by RevSportz.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli also could manage only 190 runs in five Test matches on the Australian tour at an average of 23.75. However, Ganguly said he doesn’t see the talisman fail in five Test matches on England tour.

Ganguly reckons India’s batting will hold the key and they will need to come up with a collective effort on the England tour.

“They have the talent—Virat Kohli, the best in the business. I do not see him failing in five Test matches in England. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill—they need to step up. My only worry is that, other than Virat and Yashasvi, not many average more than 40 away from home. If you want to be a good Test team, three or four of your top six batters must be averaging close to 50 in Test matches,” Ganguly said in the same interview.

The opening Test between India and England will be played at the Headingley, Leeds from June 20 onwards.