"Finally," he said with a smile and a hint of teasing, "it feels good, but it's also a responsibility to share your knowledge and experience."

Rishabh Pant is naturally a bit of a tease. That's a cheeky good thing. He is a nonstop chatterbox behind the stumps, and while he will frequently make you giggle, he is never nasty or disrespectful. But his cheekiness is most apparent when he's at bat. Sometimes, it included furious "Stupid, stupid, stupid" reprimands of the sort Sunil Gavaskar gave in Melbourne in December of last year, but it also produced amazing results.

This is Pant's third complete tour of England. He made his Test debut here in August 2018, in the middle of a five-match series. He gave hints of his enormous potential in his stout frame with a stunning 114 in a sixth-wicket partnership of 204 with KL Rahul, which was only his third outing, at The Oval. Although they ultimately came up short, losing by 118 runs to lose the series 1–4, India put up a spectacular rearguard defense from 121 for five, chasing 464 for a consolation triumph.

In the upcoming series, which saw the fourth and fifth Tests separated by a year, he smashed 146 runs off just 111 balls with India in dire straits, 98 for five, on the first morning of the final Test in Birmingham in July 2022. England rallied to tie the series at 2-2, beating Pant and India by seven wickets, but they were still miserable.

Pant has scored four of his six Test centuries away from home, all of which have been mind-blowing. However, despite his commanding presence at the crease, he had to take a backseat to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Pant has now broken into the 'senior batter' category after retiring from the five-day game, which is why he received that 'finally' remark on Wednesday afternoon. He has also been elevated to vice-captain of the five-day team, joining Shubman Gill (whom he refers to as Shubby), the new Test captain, in forming the playing leadership group.

Pant accepts accountability while maintaining his flair, shifting from maverick to mentor.

The strong connection between Gill and Pant off the field should result in wise decision-making on the field. They can agree to disagree as friends; although Pant knows that Gill, as captain, has the final say, Gill respects his slightly older friend's ideas and won't disagree just for the sake of it. Indian cricket will turn to this community as it attempts to move away from a great history and into a bright future brimming with potential and optimism.

When Pant spoke about the difficulties of hitting in England, an impish grin appeared on his face. “You have to upscale your basics,” he stated. “You have to respect the condition. You don't have to be too aggressive.” You wondered whether he was attempting to persuade himself, maybe.

The reality is that Rishabh Pant won't be left wondering. He has a strong instinct for hitting and believes he can pull off the most amazing shots, even in a five-day match. He knows, though, that he will face severe and harsh criticism if his execution falls short by even the slightest margin. In his opinion, the trade-off is fair. As the senior batter and vice-captain, he is aware that there is more riding on his shoulders than ever before, but he doesn't mind appearing "stupid" if he is confident that the odds are in his favor.

Maybe Pant is advising his younger batting teammates to "do as I say, not as I do." After all, few are capable of doing what he does. What he can do is something few people can even imagine. He averages 42.11 runs from 43 Tests, hitting at a rate of 73.62 runs for every 100 balls he faces, despite his apparent and consistent high-risk strategy. In Test cricket, he nearly breaks one six every inning (73 out of 75 hits), further reinforcing his reputation as a daring batsman who doesn't have a bad bone in his body.

Pant was a leader in his own right, both during his early days under Kohli and later, when Rohit took charge with more assurance and power. He was able to shift the fielders about with certainty, reading the angles and redirecting traffic, knowing that his captain had his back, especially from behind the stumps, where he had the greatest vantage point from which to read the game. He will continue to play cricket in that manner. However, as a batter, it will be intriguing to observe how the increased responsibility will cause a conflict between his instinct and his change in position in the team dynamic, especially with (vice-cap.) riding alongside his name. Rishabh Pant, what do you have in store for us?

Read Also: Tendulkar Opens Up on Trophy Controversy: ‘I Gave My Word to the Pataudi Family…’

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