This is the way Rishabh Pant plays.
‘Toota hai Gabba ka ghamand, jeet gayi hai muqabla Bharat!’
‘India incredible! Rishabh Pant is the star!’
For us, it has just been about four years. For Rishabh Pant, it has been more than a lifetime. Picked ahead of Wriddhiman Saha for the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia after the first Test of the 2020-21 series, Pant turned out to be a revelation. With the Kohli-Shastri duo rooting for five frontline bowlers in SENA countries, India desperately needed an extra specialist batter in the top six, who could also keep.
Yes, read that sentence twice. Pant was picked. And boy, did he turn things around! His swashbuckling, fearless approach, mindset and intent paved the way for some astonishing Indian wins and comebacks. Take a Test match for example. England versus India at Birmingham, 2022. India staring down the barrel at 98-5. In walks Pant. Smashes 146 off 111 balls with 19 fours and four sixes.
In the recent past, Pant’s life has been absolute cinema. Nearly fatal car accident, shaking hands with death and coming back, integral part of India’s T20 world cup winning squad, purchased for a whopping Rs 27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL mega auction. Amidst all these, his form slumped. Pant tried defending, it did not work. He tried hitting, it did not work either. The audacious, outrageous shots were just not working anymore. But one thing every cricket expert was certain of. Pant had his cricketing brains in the right place. He was most certainly a leadership candidate for India going forward.
Pant will remember 28th December, 2024, for a long time. Fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Series tied at 1-1. Third day of the Boxing Day Test at MCG. Pant and Ravindra Jadeja beginning the day with India’s top order back in the hut on the previous day. Clearly, the onus was on both of them. And rightly so. They have been among India’s best red-ball batter overseas of late. Pant began steadily, hitting a few boundaries and playing his aggressive brand of cricket with a sense of caution.
All this, until Scott Boland came on to bowl. For some odd reason, with India reeling at 191-5, Pant decided to play the lap shot. It looks bizarre the way he plays it. Of course, if you are a cricket purist. If you are a cricket fan, it’s great fun to watch. Pant defies every rulebook of Test cricket.
On this day, however, he tried to defy commonsense. And it did not come off. He had given an indication of what he was going to do. He missed the lap shot, got hit on the body. He backed himself for that shot one more time the very next ball. Except, probably, he forgot to notice or did not even realise that there were three fielders placed in the deep exactly for that attempt. The Aussies had learnt their lessons and come well prepared.
There were some other factors as well. The Test was just two days old. Australia had piled up 474 in the first innings. You needed to play out time, you needed to tire the pace attack. And most importantly, as the Aussie batters showed, once you got in, this MCG pitch was a paradise for batters. Who are the batters to follow? Three-Test old Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar who has played seven.
If India win this Test, they get to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the third time in a row against Australia in Australia. But then, ‘that’s how Pant plays.’ He played that shot, mistimed it and Nathan Lyon did the rest. Sunil Gavaskar reacted sharply in the commentary box with a barrage of words starting with ‘stupid, stupid, stupid’ and you wouldn’t blame him.
You play for your country, not for yourself. If this is how Pant plays, then his approach needs to change according to the match situation and the team’s needs. The team management needs to have a stern word with him. If his team needs him to defend, he has to defend. If his team gives him the license to play his natural game, he needs to take the onus, the responsibility. After all, Pant has great cricketing brains, he might lead the side one day, according to some cricket experts. ‘Rishabh Pant plays like Rishabh Pant’ cannot be the explanation anymore. As simple as that.
With this Indian Test team in transition, they need experienced players like Pant to stand up. And for that, Gabba ke saath saath Rishabh Pant ka ghamand tootna bhi zaruri hai.