Whole of India was saddened and disheartened by plane crash, will try to make the nation happy again: Rishabh Pant

Team India Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant has opened up on the recent Air India plane crash that left 241 out of 242 people onboard dead in Ahmedabad. He stated that while the incident turned the whole country saddened and disheartened, the Indian team will try their best to make India happy again by lifting their spirits with impressive performances.

Notably, India is scheduled to take on England in the five-match Test series, starting on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds, in the new World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Ahead of the first Test in Leeds, Pant addressed the media.

"See, what happened in the aircraft—I think the whole of India was saddened, disheartened. At the same time, the only thing from our side is, we are going to be sticking to them how we can make India happy again. Obviously, emotions are going to be high because of what happened in the crash. But at the same time, we want to put our best foot forward for the country," Pant said.

Furthermore, Pant also revealed that in the first Test of the five-match series, captain Shubman Gill will take up the No.4 position while Pant will bat at No.5. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah has also confirmed that he is available for selection for the first Test.

With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announcing their Test retirements ahead of the England tour, the BCCI selection committee has appointed Shubman Gill as the new Indian captain, with Rishabh Pant part of the leadership team as vice-captain.

On the other hand, the Ahmedabad plane crash led to the postponement of the unveiling of the Tendulkar-Anderson trophy. Notably, it was earlier called the Pataudi Trophy, but the ECB has renamed it for the upcoming series.

While the ceremony was expected to take place on June 14, it has now been postponed in respect for the tragedy, which also left the loss of lives of the British nationals onboard the flight to London.

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