Rishabh Pant reminds me very much of Adam Gilchrist: Greg Chappell

Former Team India head coach and analyst Greg Chappell has heaped praises on the Indian vice-captain and keeper-batter Rishabh Pant after he smacked twin centuries against England in the Leeds Test.

Notably, a total of five centuries were scored by the Indian batters in the opening Test against England. Nevertheless, India suffered a five-wicket loss despite putting up a huge target of 371 runs in front of England in the fourth innings.

Interestingly, Pant emerged as the first Indian cricketer to score two centuries in England. Hailing the keeper-batter, Chappell stated that he reminds him very much of the former Australian keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist. 

“What an exciting cricketer! What a player to have on your team! He reminds me very much of Adam Gilchrist. The difference that it can make to a team is to have a wicketkeeper who can bat at that level and score runs quickly,” Chappell said while interacting via videoconferencing at an event.

Furthermore, Pant became only the second keeper-batter in Test cricket history after Andy Flower to score twin centuries in England. Chappell asserted that some of the shots Pant plays aren’t part of the MCC coaching manual.

“The beauty of it is that Rishabh gets his runs at a very fast rate, which gives you time to win cricket matches. He was a phenomenal performer. Some of the shots that he played probably weren’t in the MCC coaching manual when I last looked at it,” Chappell added.

“He is reinventing the game as a batsman. Given modern technology, the bats are very different, obviously. You can play shots that weren’t possible with the old bats. But, man, he is exciting to watch. You never quite know what to expect from him from the first ball,” he observed.

“At any stage, he is likely to jump down the wicket to the fast bowlers or he will play the falling ramp shot. It keeps the opposition on their toes. He is a match-winner and very nearly made the difference in that regard,” he concluded.

Team India will cross swords with England in the second Test of the five-match series, starting on Wednesday, July 2 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

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