Dinesh Karthik questioned Gautam Gambhir’s decision, suggesting he may have sent the wrong message to Rishabh Pant that contributed to his dismissal.
Rishabh Pant’s Century Thrills Headingley but Raises Coaching Questions
Rishabh Pant captivated the crowd at Headingley with a stunning century against England in the first Test of the series on Saturday. The left-handed batter celebrated his milestone with a memorable somersault, delighting the packed stadium in Leeds. With this innings, Pant surpassed MS Dhoni to become the Indian wicketkeeper-batter with the most Test centuries. However, his innings ended at 134 when Josh Tongue dismissed him following a rare lapse in judgment.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, commentating for Sky Sports, raised concerns about head coach Gautam Gambhir’s possible influence on Pant’s approach during the innings. Karthik suggested that after the wickets of Shubman Gill and Karun Nair, Pant may have been instructed to alter his natural, aggressive style. In the 108th over, Tongue delivered a late curving ball that trapped Pant lbw, hitting the middle and leg stump as Pant played no shot.
Karthik commented, “When a message was sent out to Rishabh Pant, it curbed his style of play. He was carefree with his stroke making, but being told to calm down doesn’t work for certain players.” He added, “As a coach, it’s understandable to want to communicate with the batter, but how that message is delivered—the tone and language—matters a lot in bringing out the best in a player.”
‘Way with Rishabh Pant needs to be different’
Dinesh Karthik emphasized that Gautam Gambhir needs to adopt a different approach to get the best out of Rishabh Pant. “Maybe with Rishabh Pant, it needs to be a different way in which you get things done,” Karthik said.
India squandered their advantage in the first session of Day 2, losing four wickets in the final half-hour. Shubman Gill (147), Karun Nair (0), Rishabh Pant (134), and Shardul Thakur (1) all fell as India were eventually bowled out for 471. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Gill, and Pant stood out with centuries, while England’s Josh Tongue and Ben Stokes each took four wickets, triggering India’s collapse of seven wickets for just 41 runs.
Earlier, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first at Headingley.