‘He is really reinventing the game as a batsman…’: Former Australia legend on Pant’s impact on modern day Test

Chappell praises Pant's following his impressive performance against England

Former Australia cricketer Greg Chappell lauded India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, stating that he is reinventing the game. Pant’s impressive innings, featuring some brilliant strokeplay during the first Test against England at Headingley, Leeds, left fans stunned.

The 27-year-old scripted history by becoming the first wicketkeeper-batter to score centuries in both innings of a Test match. He also surpassed MS Dhoni to record the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper. Pant’s brilliant knock earned him high praise from Greg Chappell, who said the youngster is redefining the art of batting in modern-day Test cricket.

“When I first saw him, he reminded me of Adam Gilchrist…a different sort of player, of course, but…the difference it can make to a team when a wicketkeeper can bat at that level and to score runs quickly,” Chappell said during a promotional event organised by str8bat here on Wednesday.

“The beauty is Rishabh gets runs at a very fast rate which gives you time to win cricket matches. His was a phenomenal performance. Some of the shots he played weren’t in the MCC playing manual.”

“He is really reinventing the game as a batsman. With modern technology, the bats are very different and you can play shots which weren’t possible with the old bats. He’s exciting to watch,” Chappell added.

Pant was also part of some crucial partnerships in both innings of the Headingley Test — first with skipper Shubman Gill and later with KL Rahul. He added 209 runs for the fourth wicket with Gill in the first innings, scoring a brilliant 134 off 178 deliveries, which included 12 fours and six sixes.

Unfortunately, India ended up losing the Test match to England despite posting 371 runs in the fourth innings. With the win, England took a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series.