As Pant Set For Milestone 50th Test, Ex-selector Gandhi Hails Him As India's Greatest Wicket-keeper Batter

As Pant set for milestone 50th Test, ex-selector Gandhi hails him as India's greatest wicket-keeper (Image Source: IANS)

Lucknow Super Giants: Former cricketer and national selector Devang Gandhi on Friday hailed Rishabh Pant as the finest wicket-keeper batter India has ever seen in Tests, saying the southpaw's match-winning knock at the Gabba in 2021 would remain etched in his memory forever.

Pant, 28, is preparing to play his 50th Test match against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh starting on Saturday. In 49 Tests, Pant has amassed 3476 runs at an average of 42.91 and strike-rate of 74.24, including hitting eight centuries and 18 fifties.

But his milestone Test comes at a time when the past few months haven’t been good for him. He had a forgetful time with the bat and as a captain for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026, even as he lost the vice-captaincy in Tests to KL Rahul.

During the Tests against South Africa and the Border‑Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, Pant’s high‑risk approach drew scrutiny at times. But the shift from IPL’s chaos to the grind of Test cricket now offers Pant a chance to reset and be at his blistering best with the bat.

"See, to be honest, Rishabh got the captaincy because Shubman was injured. In all fairness, he was vice-captain. He had a fantastic England trip. Unfortunately, he couldn't play the entire series because of that injury. I feel that what happened with him in the IPL, I think selectors are looking at him where he can just discover himself back as a batsman.

"It's because we know how impactful a player he is as far as Test matches are concerned. With his batting, he single-handedly won us so many matches. So, if he can rediscover that touch, I think that is what selectors are looking at as always we have to look at the bigger picture.

“Sometimes, it's a tough call you're taking, but it's for the larger interest of the game. I'm sure, knowing Ajit, he must have conveyed it to Rishabh before announcing it and it is for the good of the team and good for Rishabh as well," Gandhi said in an exclusive conversation with IANS on Friday.

Gandhi, who was the national selector when Pant made his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge in 2018, said his great overseas Tests record is a testimony to his extraordinary impact in the longer format for India, while also singling out the often-overlooked improvement in his glove work.

"It's very heartening to see the way he has evolved as a Test cricketer, the impact he has made on world cricket and playing 50 Test matches - it's a significant milestone. If you look at his performance overseas basically, whether just South Africa, England, even in Australia, he has played some very impactful match-winning knocks.

"So that was very nice to see and also, nobody talks about his wicket-keeping. The way he has improved his keeping - whether it is India or abroad, he has been rock-solid as a wicket-keeper. The only thing that I can wish is that this 50 he converts it into a 100.

“In whatever cricket I have seen, whatever Indian history as far as wicket-keeping batsmen is concerned, I think Rishabh is probably the best wicket-keeper batter India has ever seen so far," he added.

Asked to pick his defining memory of Pant in Tests, Gandhi did not hesitate in mentioning the breach of the Gabba fortress in January 2021, when Pant hit 89 not out off 138 balls as India chased down 328 to pull off a heist and get an epic 2-1 series win over Australia.

"I would definitely recall the Test match at Gabba. The way he played that knock and he turned it around. So winning that series despite all the things going around - India was missing a lot of senior cricketers. On the final day, he believed that he's going to single-handedly win the match, which he did.

"Although he got a lot of support in the start and in the middle as well, but to stay till the end and win in Australia against their full side, I think that was the memory which will always remain in my memory, to be honest. I'll always remember that very fondly," he added.

Gandhi also celebrated Pant's exuberant personality on the field, saying cricket needed characters like him, not robots. "Also, one thing, I like his celebration after he gets a milestone. I mean, after he gets 100, I like to see that somersault, as we just want characters on the cricket field. We don't want robots, right? So he brings that flair.

“He has his own style and the way he plays some shots, he knows how it works for him and that has yielded results for him. I just wish him a lot of luck as far as health and fitness is concerned. Unfortunately, like we saw last year in England, he was doing so well and then he had a setback. So I just wish him really well and I hope this fifty will be converted into a hundred," Gandhi added.

On Pant's recent struggles in white-ball cricket, with Ishan Kishan also taking his place as the second keeper in ODIs, Gandhi said the remedy lay in introspection and a return to basics. "If you look at his early part of the career, as you rightly mentioned that he used to play a lot of shots on the offside, he used to drive and those things may have gone amiss.

“Sometimes in T20, you're trying too hard. I think he just needs to take some time with himself, do a little bit of introspection, and look at his old videos. Then I'm sure, you just keep working on your basics. Whenever a player is out of form, he needs to just go back to the basics.

“It's not that he has to change a great deal as he knows how to score runs, which is how we played 50 Test matches. So, I think these two-three Test matches that he's going to play before going to New Zealand are going to be very crucial," he said.

Further asked on how Pant can evolve his white-ball game, Gandhi said, "Like playing in the V, as we always talk of the basics, and playing close to the body - these are some of the basics to work on because sometimes in white ball, you tend to throw your bat and all sorts of mistakes do creep in - like tending to play away from the body.

“It's not that he has to change a great deal as he knows how to score runs, which is how we played 50 Test matches. So, I think these two-three Test matches that he's going to play before going to New Zealand are going to be very crucial," he said.

“Importantly, if you look at his Test record, the way he's batted is known to all. So, when it comes to white ball, he's underachieved a little bit. I mean, I'm sure he'll ponder over it. He'll do introspection and knowing him, he's going to come back stronger and harder," he concluded.

Article Source: IANS