Will Team India stick to Gautam Gambhir’s mantra of all rounders over specialists?

Standing in for the injured Shubman Gill as Test captain for the first time, Rishabh Pant admitted that the teams could start at level pegging on a new and unfamiliar home base. “Generally, we have an outlook of how (our) grounds play, but there hasn’t been any Tests (here).”

On a pitch that both captains “definitely” expected to bind the traditions of the Indian red-ball game — heavy runs on the first two days and turn thereafter — the hosts have all the more reason to simply trust their top six bats and their best five bowlers on the field. Staring at the ignominy of losing another high-profile series and their distinctive edge at home, will India return to their foolproof model or merely rejig the ‘GG’ mantra — preference for allrounders over specialists.

India’s Mohammed Siraj, right, bowls as Jasprit Bumrah walks past at net during a practice session ahead of the second test match between India and South Africa in Guwahati, India, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

There is also the unprecedented 9 am start to factor in, the possibility of a longer spell of movement on and off the red-soil surface that bore four, light vertical stripes of grass on match eve. “The wicket looks a lot fresher than Kolkata. A little bit more grass on the wicket, so physically it looks like it’ll play a lot better in terms of the variability of the bounce,” surmised South Africa captain Temba Bavuma on Friday.

If the pitch and the green smattering hold on, there is a firm possibility of a longer game than the Eden shambles, which also brings the rapidly dwindling daylight in the Northeast city into the equation.

With dark skies a reality from a quarter before 5 pm here, a chunk of quality overs could be lost every day. Even Ranji Trophy games at the Barsapara, which begin at 8:30 am, grapple to stuff 90 overs of play under permitted natural light.

‘Good for batting on the first two days’

“It’ll be more of a traditional subcontinent wicket. Good for batting the first two days, and from day three, the spinners should come into play. All the fundamentals that come with playing in the subcontinent. The first innings becomes crucial from a batting point of view to really set the game up,” Bavuma observed.

If Pant’s thinly veiled suspense over Gill’s replacement and the two specific practice sessions are anything to go by, India are likely to remain on the defensive and persist with the all-rounder jamboree.

During the mandatory practice session on Thursday afternoon, Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy went through the rigours in equal measure behind the regular top-order bats and lead pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. While southpaw Sudharsan is likely to return, replacing the injured Gill only a game after ceding his No.3 to the uber-talented Washington Sundar in Kolkata, Nitish will likely provide the right-handed stocks at the expense of Axar Patel.

India’s K. L. Rahul, left, and Dhruv Jurel run during a practice session ahead of the second test match between India and South Africa in Guwahati, India, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)

The reshuffle of the all-rounders could mean that Sundar will bowl significantly more than the six balls he landed in Kolkata, ending his No.3 vacation. Meanwhile, Nitish could reprise his fuzzy No.8 position from the West Indies series last month. Slotted as the third pacer, the 22-year-old sent down 24 deliveries in two Tests, scoring 43 in a lone innings during another (No. 5) batting promotion.

The makeshift arrangements with a deeper batting line-up did not jerk the overall transition process during the England tour earlier this year. A young captain and a bunch of UK first-timers, armed heavily by the coach’s tactics, needed that extra net of assurance to stand up and walk away with the 2-2 result.

On slow turners back home, where tactically aggressive phases land the most effective blows, the all-rounder fleet and extended batting depth can be a hollow parry.

The buoyant Saffers, meanwhile, are contemplating the addition of another pacer to patrol the tempting green cover on the pitch. Drafted in for the injured Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi went through an extended grind on the practice pitches on Friday.

It also teased the changing winds in a world champion contingent.

“Our mindset is not to protect the lead that we have; we want to play from the front, and we will continue to do so. We understand that the light does become an issue (here), but we don’t want to go in there with that defensive type of mindset,” the Proteas captain affirmed.