Rishabh Pant's Fearless Batting Sparks Adam Gilchrist Comparisons, Says Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell Lauds Rishabh Pant's Fearless Approach, Compares Him to Adam Gilchrist

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

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 both innings of a Test match. Despite India's five-wicket defeat to England on Day 5 of the series opener at Headingley, Pant's explosive batting display stood out as one of the most significant performances.

"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 during an event in Mumbai.

Chappell believes Pant is revolutionizing Test match batting with a fearless approach, effectively leveraging modern bat technology and his own innate 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 ability to keep bowlers guessing has 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 impressions of the left-handed batsman, Chappell stated, "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 centuries propelled him to a career-best seventh position in the ICC Test rankings for batters. Team India aims to capitalize on his explosive form in the second Test.