Rishabh Pant autographs jersey for fan ahead of departure for ENG vs IND 2025 Tests [Watch]

India’s newly appointed Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant gave an autograph to a fan on the national team's jersey at the airport before Team India left for England for the five-Test series on Friday, June 6. As the fan was at some distance from Pant, the wicketkeeper-batter caught the jersey and pen before signing it and throwing it back. The 27-year-old sported the Indian kit, paired with a cool pair of shades.

Watch the video below (via Instagram):

Pant was in a jolly mood before departure as he also gave a funny reply to a query regarding former India Test captain Rohit Sharma, who retired from the longest format last month.

On the professional front, the keeper-batter smashed a century in his last appearance for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The southpaw smashed 118* runs off 61 balls against the eventual winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with the help of eight maximums and 11 boundaries. He will now be keen to carry his form in the red-ball format.

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"Rishabh Pant is one of our best batters in Test cricket" - Chief selector Ajit Agarkar ahead of 2025 England tour

Rishabh Pant will be key to India’s success on the England tour, courtesy of his experience of playing on English soil during the 2018 and 2021-22 Test series. The left-hander has amassed 556 runs in 17 innings in England, averaging 32.71, with the help of two centuries and as many fifties. Overall, he has 2,948 runs in 75 innings (43 Tests), hitting six tons and 15 half-centuries.

Team India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar recently threw his weight behind Pant as he named him the new Test vice-captain. Agarkar said (via NDTV):

“Pant is one of our best batters in Test cricket over the last four-five years. A wicketkeeper can see the game well and that's why he is Shubman's deputy.”

In his last Test assignment (the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia), Pant scored 255 runs in nine innings at an average of 28.33, comprising one half-century.

With veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from Tests last month, Rishabh Pant will have to play a bigger role in the middle order throughout the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.