Leeds

New Delhi: As India ready themselves for a new-look batting line-up after the departure of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ahead of the England Tests, vice-captain Rishabh Pant on Wednesday confirmed that while the team remains currently undecided on the No. 3 spot, captain Shubman Gill will bat at No. 4 in the series while he will follow at the No. 5 slot. Rishabh Pant during a practice session ahead of the Leeds Test. (BCCI/X) So far, it was Kohli who had been batting at the pivotal No. 4 spot, which means Gill has big shoes to fill. “I think there is still discussion going on about who is going to play 3. But 4, 5 are definitely fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at 4 and I am going to stick to No. 5 as of now, and rest we are going to keep on discussing that,” said the wicket-keeper batter in Leeds. There are returnees and several batters who are on their first tour to England under the new-look Gill-led team. In the process, India are also chasing their first series win in England since 2007. Aware that India are undergoing a transition, Pant believes that it is more of an opportunity than a challenge. “It’s a new start for us. Big people have left and there will be a gap but at the same time, there’s an opportunity to build a new culture forward or add to it,” he said. “We can help the new players to learn and improve in overseas conditions. And we have a lot of care and love for each other in the dressing room.” Pant, who is on his third Test tour to England, will have to step up as one of the senior batters in the team. “It feels good (to be considered a senior), finally,” he laughed. “At the same time, it’s a responsibility to share your knowledge and experience with youngsters and new players coming in. It’s an extra added responsibility, but in the middle, you are not thinking that you are the vice-captain or a senior batter, you are just a batsman in the middle and you have to do your best and the game will take care of itself.” “I think me and Shubman have a really good camaraderie off the field. If you’re good friends off the field, it eventually comes on the field as well. That is something I’ve always believed,” he noted. “Me and him, we gel really well together. We keep on having conversations and the kind of comfort zone we have with each other, I think that is really going to be special for us.” England, who have named a fairly inexperienced bowling line-up for the first Test at Headingley, will be without their retired veteran pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Pant said it was a relief to see the legendary pair missing from the English line-up but was not ready to underestimate the current lot. “It feels so good that both (Anderson and Broad) are not there,” he joked. “They’ve been there for England for so many years. At the same time, they have enough ammunition in their bowling line-up.” “We don’t want to take anyone lightly because our team is also young. They’re still looking to develop themselves. But at the same time, we’ve got to play our cricket and respect the bowlers and opposition where it needs it.” When answering a question about the recent air accident involving the crash of the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick bound Air India Flight 171, Pant’s mind immediately went back to his own near-fatal car crash in 2022. However, after clarifying that it was the airplane crash in question, Pant spoke about trying to bring joy through sport after the tragedy that killed over 270 people. “You want to make India happy all the time but, as a cricketer, it’s not possible all the time. But what I can promise from our side is we are going to put our best foot forward and we are going to give our 200% and in that process, we are going to make India a lot happier place.” “The emotion is going to be high because of what happened in the crash but at the same time we are going to put our best foot forward for the country and think about how we can make them happy and that’s an added responsibility always.” The first Test starts on Friday.