From accident to excellence
Rishabh Pant's comparison with Adam Gilchrist would be pre-mature at this stage but the India wicket-keeper batter can certainly get close to the Australian great's records if he can maintain his current form, reckons former New Zealand international Ian Smith.
Himself a wicket-keeper batter, Smith is impressed with what Pant has done since his comeback from a horrific car accident. He had a good IPL and has now carried that form into the T20 World Cup.
Pant is among the most exciting talents in the game, having already logged Test hundreds in Australia, England and South Africa, something even his mentor M S Dhoni could not achieve. However, Pant has a long way to go when compared with Gilchrist, who amassed more than 15000 runs in international cricket besides taking more than 800 catches behind the stumps.
"Rishabh Pant since his accident has come back very strong and he looks in terrific form. He is dynamic. He's aggressive, he's dangerous," said Smith, who has now become one of the most
respected voices in the game and is currently commentating on T20 World Cup.
Like Gilchrist, Pant has shown he can bat up and down the order across formats.
"He can compliment who's former NZ player with him, whether he comes in to support Kohli or whether he comes in to support... Rohit Sharma, so opportunity to face the most deliveries. And so that's what makes him valuable.
"He can hit the first ball he faces out of the ground and he's got other bailout options as well if it doesn't work out that way. I mean, you know, he's replaced a very good player in K L Rahul. KL Rahul is a world class cricketer. That says it all for me," said Smith.
However, the 26-year-old's comparison with Gilchrist can wait.
"Ah yeah, well, he's got a bit to go. But yes, similar type cricketer who can, in test cricket, bat down the order”.For him, Pant is surely one of the best in the modern-game alongside Quinton de Kock, Jos Buttler and Mohammad Rizwan.
Rishabh Pant since his accident has come back very strong and he looks in terrific form. He is dynamic Ian Smith