Rishabh Pant ‘feels good’ in James Anderson and Stuart Broad absence but says won’t take England bowlers lightly

India’s vice-captain and wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant is breathing a sigh of relief in the absence of England veteran bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Anderson and Broad served English cricket for a long time but Pant said they won’t take England bowlers lightly as their batting unit is inexperienced after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s retirement.

This will be the third tour of England for Pant and he is going to hold the key as a senior batter in the team. Meanwhile, England bowling line-up has been hit by injury woes as Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, and Gus Atkinson are not available for the opening Test.

Rishabh Pant said in a press conference, “Definitely, it feels so good when both (Anderson and Broad) are not there. Because coming from the last two tours, they’ve been there for England for so many years and I’ve only come for two tours. But at the same time, they have enough ammunition as an England 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.”

Pant also revealed that newly appointed captain Shubman Gill would bat at number four and he is going to take the number five position in the batting order.

“I think there is still discussion going on, who’s going to play at No. 3 but definitely 4 and 5 are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at No. 4 and I’m going to stick to No. 5 as of now, and the rest, we’re going to keep on discussing about that.”

The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.