Read on the application
Former New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith believes it is too early to compare Rishabh Pant with Adam Gilchrist but said the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman could get close to the Australian legend if he continues his current form. Smith himself has been a wicketkeeper batsman and has been impressed with the way Pant has bounced back from the car accident. Pant has done well in the Indian Premier League and in the T20 World Cup 2024 too, he is playing his role well in front of the wicket and behind the wicket.
‘Rishabh Pant is a dangerous player’
Pant is currently counted among the most talented cricketers in world cricket. He has scored Test centuries in Australia, England and South Africa but has a long way to go to catch Gilchrist, who has scored more than 15,000 runs and taken more than 800 catches in international cricket. Smith, who is playing the role of commentator in the T20 World Cup, said, “Rishabh Pant has made a strong comeback after the accident and is looking in great form. He is a very skilled player. He is aggressive, he is a dangerous player.”
‘The decision to send him to number three is the right one’
Pant, like Gilchrist, has shown that he can bat in any order in every format. He is being sent at number three in the T20 World Cup and has proved the decision right so far. “He can play well with any player, be it Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma,” Smith said. So, the decision to drop him at number three is a good one as I believe that in limited overs cricket your best player should get a chance to face more balls. That’s what makes it special.”
‘Still a long way to go’
He said, “He can hit the first ball and take it close to the boundary line. He also has other options to score runs. He has replaced a good player like KL Rahul. KL Rahul is a world class cricketer and replacing him makes a lot of sense.
However, we will have to wait to compare the 26-year-old cricketer with Gilchrist. “He still has a long way to go to reach Gilchrist’s level,” Smith said. Both are similar cricketers who can bat in the lower order in Test cricket and in the upper order in limited overs cricket. So there is a similarity between him and Gilchrist. If he continues to play like this for a few more years, people will say that Gilchrist and Pant are very close.