After a collection of poor runs, it feels younger wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has lastly turned hit the groove. Since his 97 towards Australia in Sydney, the 23-year-old has been in imperious kind and his contributions have usually swept the sport away from the opposition.
In the recently-concluded collection towards England, Pant amassed 270 runs within the four-match collection, which additionally included 100 towards the guests within the remaining encounter. During the course of his innings, Pant hit veteran English cricketer James Anderson for a reverse sweep over the wicketkeeper’s head for a 4, which additionally noticed opposition skipper Joe Root heaping reward for the younger cricketer.
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“The way he bats, he makes it difficult for bowlers to build pressure on him. Sometimes he pulls a reverse sweep to a guy, who has 600 Test wickets. So it is quite a skill and a brave move to do and it came off for him and got themselves (India) to a very good position on that wicket,” mentioned Root, referring to the reverse sweep.
Earlier this week, former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq additionally joined the refrain to have a good time Pant’s success and branded the wicketkeeper-batsman as Virender Sehwag, who bats left-handed.
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“Rishabh Pant, absolutely brilliant. After a long time, I have seen a player on whom pressure seems to have no effect. Even if six wickets are down at 146, the way he starts his innings, no one does. He plays his strokes, irrespective of the pitch or how many runs the other team has scored. He is equally good against spinners and fast bowlers. I thoroughly enjoy watching him. It’s like watching Sehwag bat left-handed,” Inzamam mentioned on his YouTube channel.
Inzamam, who was on the helm of Pakistan cricket when the previous India opener was at his peak – within the video discusses the similarities between the 2, whereas emphasising on the very fact how the duo play freely no matter the situations.
“I have played with Sehwag and he too didn’t bother about other factors. When he used to bat, it didn’t matter to him how the pitch behaved or what kind of bowling attack the opponent had. He just had to play his strokes, even if the fielders were on the boundary. After Sehwag, I have seen such a player, for whom nothing else matters,” Inzamam added.
Inzamam additionally feels Pant is a uncommon cricketer and believes him to be probably the greatest cricketer that India has produced lately.
“Ever since I’ve noted, it’s not that he’s only doing it in India, he did it in Australia too. He didn’t get to score centuries because he plays at his own pace. After a long time, I have seen such a player. India had Sachin, Dravid… now they have Virat and Rohit. But the way he plays, it’s amazing. The kind of self-confidence he has is surprising. I haven’t come across a player like him in cricket,” mentioned Inzamam.