Rishabh Pant, the young and dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman, will miss the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia due to injury. This is a major setback for the Indian team as Pant has been a key player for them in recent times.
Here are 3 reasons why team India will miss Rishabh Pant during BGT 2023. His fearless batting, his keeping ability, and his involvement in the game.
No Indian cricket fan or enthusiast will ever dare to forget the great Gabba test win in Australia in 2018. The match and series-winning boundary from Rishabh’s bat will remain one of the best if not the greatest moments for any cricket fan. While chasing a huge target of 328 runs(The highest run ever chased in BGT if I am not wrong) in the must-win final match of the series he scored an impressive 89 not out and lead India to an incredible win. Point to note that The Gabba was known as the worst nightmare for India as India never won there till that day. That was India’s first win at Gabba, which had been considered the fortress of the Australian cricket team for over 32 years.
Overall, in the four-match test series, Rishabh Pant scored an Impacable 274 runs in eight innings at an average of 68.50, with a high score of 97. He also took 14 catches behind the stumps. His performances in the series were a key factor in India’s historic triumph over Australia. It is worth mentioning that he was just 23 back then and also become the youngest to be named in the Wisden’s all time Border-Gavaskar Trophy XI.
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1. A Match winning batsman down the order
Not once or twice, Rishabh Pant proved himself as a dependable batsman for India across the formats. Playing at no.6 he holds a batting average of 43.67, 34.60, and 23 in tests, ODIs, and T20Is respectively which may not be the best but an impressive figure to hold. Though his ability to hit the ball was under a question mark in the near past in the shorter format of the game he was undoubtedly the best batsman to go for in test cricket.
The biggest x-factor of Rishabh Pant is his fearless batting and aggressive approach, especially in crunch situations. He has the ability to change the course of a game with his explosive batting. He was a good hitter of the ball since his under 19 days. Rishabh also successfully chased some big targets in all formats and from which most of the time he led the team to the win after early batting collapses.
No matter whether the match is going on at home or overseas, Rishabh had a phenomenal track record of getting runs for the team playing down the order. And when you add him with India’s other lower-order all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin, and Axar Patel you get a very deep batting lineup, which is very much necessary against Australia as they have the world’s best test pace attack.
Captaining an IPL team full of youngsters made him so much more responsible. That helps him to build partnerships with top-order as well as lower-order batsmen. And all of these results in his high level of confidence while batting.
2. The best wicket-keeper available for India
In the year 2022 Team India was pretty inconsistent with their captains as well as wicket-keepers. Not showing faith in Rishabh playing him in the XI consistently, results in looking for a part-time or old wicketkeeper. Which is our thoughts was a very poor decision.
Pant has also been working hard on his wicket-keeping skills and has improved significantly over the past year. He is a valuable asset behind the stumps and his absence will leave a big gap in the Indian team’s wicket-keeping department. Rishabh has the joint highest dismissals in a single test match record on his name. In the 2021 BGT, he took 14 catches behind the stumps.
Rishabh is also very communicative behind the stumps with the bowlers. Although he is not very good at taking DRS appeals.
3. Involvement in game
Test cricket is all about having high energy and holding it till the very end. Facing an opponent like Australia which is the current favorite team in test cricket with ranking at the top of the table needs a constant surge of energy and confidence in all the 11 players present on the field.
And that’s the area where Rishabh shines like a bright star. He is an infinite source of energy by himself. A total character and entertainer. Be it some funny stump mic chats or the one-handed six shot or throwing the bat itself for a six, he can do it all. And all these activities of him help to maintain a lighter and more encouraging tone on the field.
Rishabh’s continuous conversation with the bowler helps boost their self-confidence. He is also a very active communicator while bating. That is the reason that helps him build good partnerships in batting.
Captaining an IPL team full of youngsters made him so much more responsible. And also playing with so many great players like Mahi, Virat, and Rohit impacted him in a very good way and gave him so many experiences of the game. And all these results in his high level of confidence while batting.
In conclusion, Rishabh Pant’s absence from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a big loss for the Indian team. He is a match-winner and his X-factor, experience, and improved wicket-keeping skills will be greatly missed. The Indian team will have to find a way to compensate for his absence and perform at their best to secure a series win against Australia.
It is important to mark well that, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, unfortunately, met an accident while driving back home on new year’s eve. Glory to god that nothing so serious happened to Rishabh and after being hospitalized for almost a month now he is resting at his home and recovering from the injuries.
Being a die-hard cricket lover it is also very depressing to see the current injury scenario of team India. And many of them happening outside the field or the process of the game is an even more sad fact. While the team is consistently underperforming in knockouts of bigger ICC events not having our best players at that time is very hurtful. And this raises the question of whom can the team trust.
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