India’s wicketkeeper-batsman, Rishabh Pant who is entrusted by former New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith with the mantle of Adam Gilchrist. He can come close to what Australia’s ace Adam Gilchrist has achieved if he continues like this. However, Smith immediately dismissed any comparisons between Pant and Gilchrist as it was too early.
Since his return after the crash, Smith has been impress with Rishabh Pant and pointed out that he was performing well in the IPL and even now in the World Cup T20.
PTI quoted Smith as saying: “Rishabh Pant has recovered very well since the accident and he looks in very good shape. He is full of energy. He is aggressive, he is dangerous.”
Like Gilchrist, Pant can bat at various positions in different versions of cricket. For Smith, Pant’s adaptability makes him a valuable player for white-ball cricket.
“He is an individual who can appreciate anyone who comes after him; whether it be Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma…He should bat at number three because I strongly believe that in white ball cricket the best batter should face most balls.” This is where his real worth lies.
“The first ball he faces could go down the ground if it clicks but if that doesn’t work then there are other options.” I mean you know he replaced KL Rahul who is a very good player. KL Rahul means everything to me; KL Rahul means everything to me for two reasons – one his world class level but at same time somebody replaces him only goes on to show how good they are.
Rishabh Pant aged 26, was similar type cricketer like gilchresty able to play tests And then return to white Ball order. But according to Smith while pant has made strides forward, pant needs quite a few more years before reaching such heights because gilchrest played international cricket for over 800 catches behind wickets.
“Yeah, well, he’s got a ways to go. Yeah, similar type of cricketer can bat in the order in Test cricket. And in white ball cricket he can go back to the order. So there are similarities with Gilchrist, but if he continues in the same way for a few more years then people would say Gilchrist and Pant yes are very close,” Smith said.
