“I'm sure he will deliver” - Gautam Gambhir backs Rishabh Pant to deliver in the second Test vs SA

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed the stand-in captain Rishabh Pant to come out well and deliver in the second and final Test against South Africa in Guwahati, scheduled to start on Saturday, November 22.

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Notably, India suffered a 30-run defeat in the first Test to start the two-match series on a back foot. Pant, who was acting as stand-in captain in Shubman Gill’s absence, could score only 27 runs in the first innings and two runs in the second innings.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Gambhir asserted that Pant is playing after a long time, and he backed him to deliver in the near future. Gambhir also termed Pant as a world-class batter in the longest format of the game.

"From Rishabh's point of view, he's a world-class batter in this format. He plays in a certain way. He can take the game away as well. And we'll keep backing him to play this way as well because sometimes you've got to tell people to play the natural game and, more importantly, be a little smart as well. So, I think he's playing after a long time and I'm sure he will deliver in future," Gautam Gambhir told the reporters after the 30-run defeat to South Africa.

For the unversed, this is Team India's first defeat at Eden Gardens since December 2012 against England. Simon Harmer’s eight-wicket match haul and Temba Bavuma’s half-century in the second innings turned the game upside down for Team India.

With Gill unlikely to feature in the second Test in Guwahati due to a neck spasm, Pant is expected to lead the Indian team in Gill’s absence. Interestingly, India slid down to the fourth rank in the World Test Championship 2025-27 points table after this defeat to South Africa.

India will next take on South Africa in the second and final Test of the two-match series from Saturday, November 22 in Guwahati.

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