The first Test between Sri Lanka and India begins on August 15, at Galle International Cricket Stadium, with the two-match series continuing at Colombo (SSC) from August 23 to 27. India currently occupy fifth place in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 standings with 52 points and a 48.15 per cent points percentage after nine Tests played.
Former India cricketer WV Raman has offered his assessment of how Rishabh Pant should approach the upcoming series in Sri Lanka. Speaking ahead of the first Test, Raman emphasised that Pant's natural instincts and aggressive style of play should be the foundation of his approach in the longer format.
"He has got to go and play the way he knows to bat, and that’s when he will be at his best. I think if he personally looks at playing more like a Test batter, or somebody where he insists that he bats like a normal Test batter, then it will be a case of him getting into a bit of a tangle," Raman was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.
Why Pant thrives with aggressive freedom
Raman stressed that Pant performs best when given the freedom to express his natural batting style. The former cricketer highlighted Pant's record of winning Test matches from difficult situations through his aggressive approach, arguing that this should remain his primary strength in the format.
"Rishabh Pant must be given a free license to play the way he plays. I think he is at his best when he plays his aggressive brand of cricket. He has won a few Test matches abroad from really dire situations. So, I think Rishabh Pant deserves to be given that license." Raman said.
Raman explained that assessing players requires understanding their individual strengths and limitations rather than imposing a uniform approach. He identified Pant's aggressive batting and ability to score quickly as his primary strengths in the Test format.
"It’s so easy to have the wonderful benefit of hindsight, isn’t it? But the fact of the matter is that we need to really slot and assess players based on their strengths and their limitations. If you are looking at Rishabh Pant’s strengths, as far as I am concerned, his strength is batting aggressively, going after the bowlers, getting runs quickly," Raman said.
Raman warned that attempting to force Pant into a conventional batting mould would create a conflict between his natural instincts and the approach being demanded of him. He argued that this internal conflict would ultimately harm his performance rather than improve it.
"But if he were to be asked to bat defensively and in the conventional mode, then what would happen is that there will be a bit of a conflict between his mind and his trained reflexes because the mind will be telling him to try and take it easy. But his responses to a cricket ball will be faster than what his mind is telling him. So, that is not going to really help him," Raman said.
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Pant, aged 28, has established himself as India's most successful wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket with eight centuries and 19 fifties across 50 Test matches. He has hit 97 sixes in the format and needs three more to become the first Indian batter to reach 100 Test sixes. In his previous international outing, Pant scored 81 runs off 121 balls against Afghanistan, striking six boundaries and three sixes.