‘Only he can stop himself now’: Shoaib Akhtar heaps praise on Rishabh Pant after his stunning ton vs England

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said only Rishabh Pant can stop himself as he heaped praise on the Indian wicket-keeper batter after his stunning century in the recently-concluded third and final ODI between India and England. Pant played a stellar knock of unbeaten 125 to help India beat England by 5 wickets and clinch the three-match series 2-1.

The legendary Pakistan pacer was left in awe of Pant’s swashbuckling stroke play and courageous batting display during India’s run-chase in the third ODI. Pant came out to bat at number 4 and soon after his arrival, India were left reeling on 72/4 during the 260-run chase.

Pant combined with Hardik Pandya to put on a 133 run-stand for the fifth wicket as the duo took the game away from England. Pant’s unbeaten 125 was laced with 16 fours and 2 sixes as he was awarded the Man of the Match for one of the best innings played by a visiting batter on English soil.

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Lauding Pant for his incredible knock, Akhtar called the Indian wicket-keeper a batter an incredibly courageous player who is not afraid of anything. 

“He is not Rishabh Pant, he is Rishabh ‘Phainta’. He is an incredibly courageous player. He cuts, he pulls, he also plays the reverse-sweep and isn’t afraid of anything. He won games in Australia and even here, this series should be named after him,” Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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The legendary Pakistan pacer, however, advised Pant to continue working on his fitness as he feels the Indian wicket-keeper still needs to shed some weight. The Rawalpindi Express believes only Pant can stop himself now from achieving greatness for India in international cricket.

“My advice to him would be to improve his physique because he has the talent to put a number of teams into trouble. I was also impressed with the way he was so calculative in the chase. Once he is done pacing his innings, he becomes ruthless and knows how to accelerate. He can only stop himself now from here, I don’t think anyone else can,” said Akhtar as he lauded the Indian star.