INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
India may have lost the Headingley Test, but Pant’s brilliance shone through as he scored centuries in both innings © AFP
Greg Chappell believes Rishabh Pant is redefining the way cricket is played, with a batting approach that breaks away from conventional norms. “…and he’s a match-winner,” Chappell gushed, adding, “very nearly made the difference in that game (at Headingley),” the former India coach said.
India may have lost the Headingley Test, but Pant’s brilliance shone through as he scored centuries in both innings – a rare feat that underlined his game-changing ability.
“The beauty of it (Pant’s batting) is that he gets his runs at a very fast rate, which gives you time to win cricket matches. His was a phenomenal performance – some of the shots that he played probably weren’t in the MCC coaching manual when I last looked at it. He is reinventing the game as a batsman,” Chappell said, lavishing praise on the Indian wicketkeeper.
Pant made history by becoming only the second wicketkeeper-batter after Andy Flower to score a century in each innings of a Test match.
“You know, modern technology – the bats are very different. Obviously, you can play shots that weren’t possible with the old bats. But man, he’s exciting to watch. You never quite know what to expect from the first ball at any stage. He’s likely to jump down the wicket to the fast bowlers, or he’ll play the falling ramp shot. You never quite know what to expect, so it keeps the opposition on their toes,” Chappell said at a promotional event in Mumbai on Wednesday (June 25).
Widely regarded as one of the finest Australian batters after Don Bradman, Chappell drew a parallel between Pant and Adam Gilchrist – another iconic wicketkeeper.
“What an exciting cricketer, what a player to have on your team,” he said. “When I first saw him, he was a different sort of player, of course, but he reminded me very much of Adam Gilchrist. You know the difference that it can make to a team to have a wicketkeeper that can bat at that level and score runs quickly.”
Good start for Gill as captain
Chappell also felt Shubman Gill had a good Test as a skipper and will only get better. “It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn’t finish up on the correct side, but there were a lot of good things that they did. Shubman Gill had a great start to his career as a Test match captain. As a player, maybe the result didn’t go the right way, but conditions were probably better for him on the last day than they were at any other stage in the Test match.
“So he will have learned a lot from that. The Indian think tank will have learned a lot from what happened in the Test match. He will only get better and better as a captain. Had the team taken a few more catches and, maybe, if the tail had wagged a bit stronger in both innings, the result could have been very different. But I think there are four Test matches to go. Let’s wait and see, but I think he made a very good start as captain.”
© Cricbuzz
