NEW DELHI: Rishabh Pant faces a daunting leadership challenge as India gear up to level the series against a disciplined South Africa in the second and final Test, starting Saturday in Guwahati. With Shubman Gill unavailable, Pant will be tasked with guiding the team on a pitch expected to offer significant turn.

For head coach Gautam Gambhir, the pressure is no less. His often puzzling tactical decisions have left both the dressing room and the support staff searching for clarity.

The sense of home invincibility that has long defined Indian cricket over the past three decades seems to have faded. The current team, once considered formidable on familiar turf, now appears surprisingly vulnerable.

Shubman Gill released from India squad ahead of second Test, seeks specialist opinion: Report

For the first time in many years, India are stepping into a home Test as underdogs rather than favourites - a position no top player relishes.

If New Zealand's spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner had already shattered India's aura of invincibility in 2024, Simon Harmer and his fellow South African spinners are exposing a young Indian side's vulnerabilities even further. The team's struggles against quality spin, and the absence of a sound technique, are glaring and difficult to ignore.

Compounding the problem is a significant shift in mindset when playing on pitches that crumble, leaving India even more exposed and under pressure.

Although Gambhir's position remains secure thanks to strong backing within the BCCI, a 0-5 home record against two SENA sides would leave a permanent dent in his coaching legacy - something even multiple ICC titles may not be able to overshadow.

Against this challenging backdrop, Rishabh Pant steps into the captaincy in Gill's absence. He will be acutely aware that on the red-soil surface at Barsapara, his batting will be just as crucial as the decisions he makes as leader.

That Gill was never in contention to play the second Test after suffering from neck spasms was always clear but the Indian team management and the BCCI, true to their nature of avoiding clarity till the last minute, denied the inevitable till it became undeniable. According to reliable sources, the 26-year-old has left the city to rest and recuperate.

Sai Sudharsan looks to be the most likely candidate to take Gill's place although whether he bats at No.3 or Washington Sundar is allowed to continue remains to be seen.

When it comes to captaincy experience, Pant led an Indian T20 team against the same opponents few years back when Rohit Sharma was rested.

But there isn't enough data on his red-ball decision-making skills.

Pant did lead a Delhi side to a Ranji Trophy final back in 2017 losing to eventual champions Vidarbha.

However, what would keep experts more interested is the calls he took on the second evening and third morning of the opening Test in Kolkata.

By stumps on second evening, India had reduced to South Africa to 93 for 7 with help of spinners. What left a lot to be desired was Pant's eternal wait before handing the ball to Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning.

By that time, Temba Bavuma had added those additional 60 runs which became decisive.

While Pant, the lively chatter box behind the stumps, is an incentive for the bowlers, it is Pant the skipper, who will have to convince his coach to make some prudent calls when it comes to team selection.

With too many left-handers in the line-up, as many as seven, off-spinner Simon Harmer might just have a field day if the covering of grass that was seen on the track on Thursday, is shaved off by BCCI curators Taposh Chatterjee and Ashish Bhowmick.

In any case, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia wouldn't want this venue's first ever Test to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Hence, one of the spinners -- Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav -- could make way for all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, which can help India exploit any underlying moisture if a third seamer comes into play.

In case his bowling isn't required, being a right hander with a cavalier approach to batting might just help on these kind of surfaces. But in the end, it all boils down to faith in players instead of being a slave of the surface.

When it comes to trust, the head coach, for once, would like to walk the talk before another lost home series which will have way more implications than he can ever think of.

Teams (from):

India: Rishabh Pant (captain and wk), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep.

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne.

Match Starts at 9 am.