“He needs to show fight”—Sourav Ganguly cautions Rishabh Pant ahead of England Test series

Before the five-match Test series, former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly offered Rishabh Pant some intriguing advice. Pant's performance in the IPL 2025 drew harsh criticism from both fans and pundits after he had a dismal series against Australia.

Ganguly also voiced his disappointment with Pant's recent performances in an interview with Revsportz, claiming that he played "too many shots" against Australia. The southpaw was encouraged by the former Indian captain to grind down and fight rather than swiping at every delivery.

He acknowledged that Rishabh was a stroke-maker but said that to extend his middle-field innings, he will need to adjust and play appropriately.

“I did not like what I saw of him in Australia. Too many shots. Just too many shots. He was just swinging at every ball, and that's not how you bat in conditions where the ball was moving around a bit," he said while talking to RevSportz.

In the previous Test season, Pant managed to score just 677 runs in 10 matches, including one century and four half-centuries.

“Be ugly. Look ugly.” Sourav Ganguly tells Rishabh Pant to make runs his way, but in discipline

He only managed 255 runs from 10 innings, including one fifty, in the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, which was the only overseas Test series played in the preceding calendar year. Eight of the ten innings he played were caught out, most of them while trying rash shots.

Ganguly continued by saying that Pant should battle the England fast bowlers and even suggested that he "be ugly" if necessary.

“He (Pant) needs to show fight. He has a very good defense. That's what I want to see. I want him to fight and grind down. Be ugly. Look ugly. But don't swing at every ball and give it away. I know he is a stroke-maker, and that's his strength, but then he will have to adapt and play accordingly," Ganguly said.

Pant now has to make amends in the series against England after a dismal IPL 2025 season. particularly now that he is India's vice-captain. In addition, competition is imminent because Dhruv Jurel, India's backup goalie, has been reliable.

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