'Rishabh Pant has got to bite the bullet': Ganguly exposes India's worrying sign in sharp warning before England Tests

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly sent a massive warning to the Indian Test team ahead of the tour of England in late June. India will play five Tests against the Ben Stokes-led side, which will mark the beginning of the 2025/27 World Test Championship cycle. Ganguly wants the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill to step up in the all-important tour, during which India will aim to secure their first Test series win in England since 2007. Sourav Ganguly sent a warning to the Indian team before England Tests

Speaking during Trailblazers 3.0, by RevSport, Ganguly expressed concern in outlining that none other than Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal average more than 40 away from home. The India legend's statement was more aimed at Pant, who incurred a disappointing tour of Australia earlier this year. The 52-year-old said India need at least four of their top six batters to average more than 50 in Test cricket if India want to excel in the format again.

"[Rishabh] Pant has got to bite the bullet and play the swinging ball," he said. "You can not keep swinging all the time and expect to score runs in Test cricket. It is a mentality, determination, and grit. They have the talent—Virat Kohli, the best in the business. I do not see him failing in five Test matches in England. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill—they need to step up. My only worry is that, other than Virat and Yashasvi, not many average more than 40 away from home. If you want to be a good Test team, three or four of your top six batters must be averaging close to 50 in Test matches," he said.

Big scores key to win in England, says Ganguly

The former India opener emphasised the need for the Indian team to score big runs to change their fortune in England. Ganguly exemplified his notion by recalling India's previous wins in Pakistan, Australia and England. He even pointed out India secured their only win in Australia in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, in Perth, because they scored 400-plus in the second innings, courtesy of Jaiswal's knock of 161.

"It is possible to transform our red-ball fortunes in England. You have to bat well. You look at the times India played their best away from home—it is when they put 400-500 runs on the board. You speak about our generation, when we won in England, we were one-all in Australia against the best-ever cricket team in the world, we went to Pakistan and won there—all because we were scoring 600 runs," he said.

"Those three Tests in Pakistan (2004)—Multan, we got 600; Lahore, we got 400; Rawalpindi, we got 700. Going to Australia, 500 in Brisbane, 500 in Adelaide, 700 in Sydney. You have to get runs on the board to win Test matches. You do not win Tests by scoring 200, 250, or 180. The reason they won in Perth was because they got 400 on the board. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who I think is the best Test batsman at the moment for India, played a crucial role."

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