Gill ruled out Guwahati Test, Pant to captain India

Rishabh Pant will become India’s 38th Test captain on Saturday after Shubman Gill was ruled out of the second Test here due to the neck injury he had suffered during the Kolkata Test. It’s a one-off responsibility, that too when India are trying to level the two-match series here. That makes this hardly an opportunity, given Pant is already enduring a season where his career is still on the mend after the road accident that kept him out of cricket for nearly two years, not to mention the right foot fracture that prevented him from playing the fifth Test in England.

- Somshuvra Laha

India chief coach Gautam Gambhir examines the pitch.

(AP)

“Definitely, a one-off match is not the best scenario as a captain,” said Pant at the press conference on Friday. “But at the same time, I'm really proud that the BCCI has given me this opportunity. You know, whenever you're leading your country, it’s the proudest moment. At the same time, I don’t want to think about it too much. I don’t want to take that undue pressure of captaincy. I just want to keep things very simple.”