Sunil Gavaskar reveals Rishabh Pant's major batting weakness in Test cricket

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's short Test career has had its fair share of overly scrupulous scrutiny. After being fairly inconsistent in the initial part of his Test career, the southpaw has turned it around by putting in consistent match-winning performances against Australia and England recently. A more natural attacker of the ball, Pant has often been likened to legendary Australian stumper Adam Gilchrist, who was also renowned for his explosive strokeplay.

Sunil Gavaskar reckons Rishabh Pant sometimes breaches line of carefree and careless batting

The southpaw recently featured in the India vs New Zealand WTC Final. After getting dismissed for just four runs in the first innings, Pant played a crucial knock of 41 in the second innings. However, it was his attacking approach during the knock and the manner in which he got out that became a topic of discussion. Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar said that the southpaw sometimes breached the line of carefree batting and careless batting. 

While commentating on Day 6 of the WTC Final, Gavaskar said that there is a thin line between carefree and careless. He added that Pant has at times breached the line of carefree and careless. The Indian veteran elaborated further saying that a couple of times, Pant went for a big hit when he was in the 90s and missed an opportunity to score a hundred. According to Gavaskar, the only issue with Pant going forward will be his shot selection; otherwise, he has got the defence, all the shots and technique.

India vs New Zealand winner: Virat Kohli reveals his biggest concern about Rishabh Pant

Speaking in the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli said that Rishabh Pant is just going to be a very expressive player whenever he gets an opportunity. According to Virat Kohli, whenever there is a situation that needs to be understood, Pant assesses it really well. He also said that when things don't come off, a person can say that it was an error of judgment and that is acceptable in sport.

Virat Kohli then revealed his biggest concern about Rishabh Pant as the Indian team will be embarking on their next Test series against England. The Indian captain said that they don't want Rishabh Pant to lose his positivity or his optimism in changing the situation for the team. Virat Kohli feels that Rishabh Pant’s USP lies over there, and he added that they will definitely continue to back him to play that way and find ways to put pressure on the opposition and find ways to score runs, which is his natural game.

Rishabh Pant stats

The Rishabh Pant stats in Test cricket are impressive, to say the least. Pant has played 21 Tests where he has scored 1403 runs at an exceptional average of 43.8 with six fifties and three hundreds. As far as Pant's wicketkeeping stats in Tests are concerned, the 23-year old has grabbed 75 catches and has affected eight stumpings.

WTC Final 2021 highlights: Day 6

India were bundled out for just 170 runs in their second innings courtesy of a disciplined bowling performance from Kyle Jamieson and co. as it meant that they only had to chase down a target of 139. It was a sorry-looking scorecard for India as they lost the key wickets of skipper Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane in the first session itself. Only wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant played attacking cricket as he scored a vital 41 before being dismissed while trying to up the scoring rate.

Coming back to New Zealand's run chase, they seemed to be on the back foot after losing openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway quickly but captain Kane Williamson and veteran Ross Taylor soldiered on for the BlackCaps. The duo registered an unbeaten 96-run stand as New Zealand registered an emphatic win by eight wickets to become the first-ever World Test champions. Kane Williamson remained unbeaten on 52 while Ross Taylor was not out on 47. Kyle Jamieson was named the 'Player of the Match' for his seven wickets in the game.

IMAGE SOURCE: ICC TWITTER/ PTI