"Whole country was disheartened...": Rishabh Pant on Ahmedabad plane crash ahead of Leeds Test against England

Leeds [UK], June 18 (ANI): Ahead of the five-match series at Headingley against England, Team India's vice-captain Rishabh Pant expressed his feelings on the Ahmedabad plane crash, which happened on June 12.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference about the plane crash, Pant told the media, "The whole country was disheartened, but at the same time, the only thing from our side is that we would be sticking to them on how we can make India happy. The emotions are always going to be high, as what happened in the crash, but at the same time, we will put our best foot forward for the country. How can we make them happy? That's added responsibility for us always."
The London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft crashed into a hostel complex shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 241 passengers and crew, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. One passenger, Vishwas Kumar, survived the tragic incident.
India tour of England will take place from June to August 2025, with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.
India squad for England Test series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
England on Wednesday announced its playing XI for the opening Test of the five-match series against India, which will kick off on June 20 at Headingley.
For the opening Test, England has retained the majority of the XI they fielded against Zimbabwe during the one-off Test last month. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will open for England, followed by Ollie Pope at number three.
England Playing XI for the 1st Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)