Greg Chappell Hails Rishabh Pant's "Game-Changing" Test Innings Against England

Greg Chappell Lauds Rishabh Pant's "Game-Changing" Innings Against England

Former India coach Greg Chappell has showered praise on Rishabh Pant following the wicketkeeper-batter's remarkable twin centuries at Headingley. Chappell lauded Pant as a "game-changer," drawing parallels between his impact and that of Australian legend Adam Gilchrist.

Rishabh Pant's explosive batting display.

Pant, who now serves as India's Test vice-captain, etched his name in history as only the second wicketkeeper-batter, after Zimbabwe's Andy Flower, to achieve the feat of scoring a century in each innings of a Test match. His explosive batting was a major highlight in the series opener at Headingley, despite India's five-wicket defeat to the hosts on Day 5.

"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. It 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," Chappell remarked at an event in Mumbai.

Chappell believes Pant is revolutionizing Test batting with his fearless approach, leveraging modern bats and his inherent natural talent.

"He is reinventing the game as a batter. You know, modern technology, the bats are very different. You can play shots that weren’t possible with the old bats. But man, he’s exciting to watch,” he added.

Pant's unpredictable approach, keeping bowlers guessing, also impressed Chappell. "You never quite know what to expect from the first ball at any stage. He’s likely to jump down the wicket to the pacers, or he’ll play the falling ramp shot. You never quite know what to expect, so it keeps the opposition on their toes,” he explained.

Recalling his initial assessment of the left-hander, Chappell noted, "When I first saw him, he was a different sort of player, of course, but he reminded me very much of Adam Gilchrist.”

Pant's twin hundreds propelled him to a career-best seventh position in the ICC Test rankings for batters. India aims to capitalize on his explosive form in the second Test. A victory would level the series for the visitors.