Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir applauded Rishabh Pant and his game-changing abilities before the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday, September 19. The veteran also explained what Pant adds to the side. The youngster is in line to play his first Test since December 2022. However, Pant returned to international cricket during the T20 World Cup 2024 in June and had a successful campaign too.

During the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Gambhir said: “Pant can open the game for us. As a keeper also, he has done phenomenally well. We all know how destructive Pant can be. It is good to have someone like him and he has done phenomenally with keeping. Batting overshadows keeping, he brings a lot of good things to the side. Our batting unit has so much quality that it can take on any spin unit. There is a lot of difference between ODIs and Tests. It’s all about the mindset and working and strengthening your defence and once you have it, then you play around it.”

However, Gautam Gambhir admitted that India need to be wary of Bangladesh, considering they have in-form players and they are riding high on confidence. They recently whitewashed Pakistan 2-0 in an away Test series.

“I congratulate them (Bangladesh) for what they did in Pakistan. But this is a new series, and they are a quality side. We want to play good cricket. Yes, they have experience in Shakib (Al Hasan), Mushfiqur (Rahim) and Mehidy (Miraz) but we want to be switched on from ball one,” he said. “I have been big believer that we don’t fear anyone but we respect everyone. It is the same with Bangladesh. We don’t look at the opposition and we play the game we know.”