Rishabh Pant’s batting style similar to Adam Gilchrist, will be a discussion point always, says Ashish Nehra

Rishabh Pant was one of India’s best batsman in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. However, the left-hander hasn’t done anything extra ordinary in the second cycle, which commenced with the start of the India-England Test series, in the United Kingdom, in early August.

Pant so far has only 87 runs in 5 innings and hasn’t played any impactful knock despite getting starts in few outings. Ahead of the fourth and penultimate Test, many have shown concerns over his form and mode of dismissals. While Virat Kohli-led Indian team management wants to back his fearless style of play, they want him to also be aware of the match situation.

Ahead of the fourth and penultimate Test, which gets underway from September 2 (Thursday) at Kennington Oval, London, former India pacer Ashish Nehra defended Pant during an online media interaction organised by Sony and said, “Somebody like Pant or any international cricketer needs to change their game from time to time but, they should not forget their strengths also. If he gets out while defending or hitting a shot, he is the same Rishabh Pant who won the Test match at the Gabba.”

He further opined, “His way of batting and his style will always be a discussion point in Test cricket. Adam Gilchrist was also quite similar. He knew what his style was and backed that. Have to give him time. You’re talking about a guy who’s scored a hundred in Australia and England in tough conditions. When you talk about a wicketkeeper batsman he has already done wonders.”

Though Pant seems certain to play the remainder of the two Tests in England, he will like to make the most of the opportunities and slam a daddy hundred going forward to stage India’s recovery in the series. 

After the drawn series opener and India’s Lord’s Test win, the visitors lost the third Test by an innings and 76 runs as the series is levelled at 1-1. Thus, both India and England will come hard at each other in the penultimate Test in order to take an unassailable 2-1 lead.