Gambhir tells struggling Pant to play natural game in Afghan Test

India coach Gautam Gambhir told struggling Rishabh Pant on Friday to stick to his natural attacking game after removing him as vice-captain for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

KL Rahul will be Shubman Gill's deputy for the match starting on Saturday in New Chandigarh in place of Pant.

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Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant has scored 3,476 runs at an average of 42.91 in 49 Test matches, since his debut in England in August 2018.

But the 28-year-old stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants last week, the team having finished last in the IPL.

The usually flamboyant Test match star scored just 312 runs from 14 innings in this year's IPL, at a strike rate of 138.05.

"The responsibility is to play for India -- the rest, everything else, is a by-product," Gambhir told reporters on the eve of the Test.

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"When you start playing for India, you don't think about being a vice-captain. You think about doing good for India."

Gambhir said that no player is told to "play a completely different game than his natural game".

"We will not tell him to 'curb your game', but in international cricket, it is very important to play the situation, to read the situation," Gambhir added.

Gambhir's Test record as India coach is unimpressive with 10 defeats, seven wins and two draws in 19 matches.

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India suffered a 2-0 defeat to South Africa at home in November in their most recent Test outing.

They were also whitewashed in 2024 by New Zealand on home soil.

Gambhir is taking positives though from the 2-2 Test series draw in England last year, and performances against the West Indies.

India won 2-0 at home in October.

"We all know how well this young team played in England, and then we won against West Indies," he said, admitting that the South Africa series still "hurts".

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"These are young boys," he said. "I think we have got enough talent to turn it around, and I am very hopeful that we will give ourselves the best chance to win the World Test Championship."

The match is not part of the World Test Championship cycle, but is a key game for Afghanistan who played their debut five-day game in India in 2018.

Afghanistan, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, have since played 12 Tests and won four.

"We're fully focused on this Test match," coach Richard Pybus said.

"Our focus is on, cliche as it sounds, is really our control -- it's what we need to do."

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