For a long time, whenever Indian cricket has been talked about, mostly the only name that has come forward is Virat Kohli. But times have changed now, and Saba Karim, the former wicket-keeper batter of the Blue Brigade, believes that young Rishabh Pant has started to grab the spotlight, making watching cricket enjoyable, irrespective of the format he has been featuring in.
India enjoyed a huge victory of 280 runs in the first of the two-match Test series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. But things could have been different. The home side was under pressure with four down for not so much in the first session when Pant came to the rescue of the side with some aggression.
“The biggest story of this Test match was Rishabh Pant’s comeback in Test cricket, which everyone was waiting for. I might be saying a big thing. There was a time when we used to say that we were blessed to see Sachin Tendulkar’s era, and then MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli’s phases came.” Saba Karim expressed during a discussion on Colors Cineplex regarding his biggest takeaway for India from the opening game.
The bowling department of the Rohit Sharma-led side across the two innings was excellent, but the way the batting collected those runs on a tricky surface was the reason behind their victory.
“This has been a splendid comeback”- Saba Karim
Pant came into the crease during the second innings towards the end of the second day and kept on smashing the ball around the park. The former wicket-keeper batter feels that it was an honor to see the Delhi-born batting, as very few international players carry the same mentality and clarity.
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“We are honored to have a player like Rishabh Pant in our team who makes watching cricket enjoyable, whether he is at the crease or behind the wickets. I feel we will repeatedly be taking Rishabh Pant’s name in the upcoming decade. Very few international players have the skill set, mentality, and clarity this player has.” The Patna-born remarked during the conversation.
The last red-ball contest for the left-handed batter was back in December 2022 in Bangladesh, and now he equaled MS Dhoni with six centuries in the format to be the joint most successful Indian designated wicket-keeper batter in Tests.
“This has been a splendid comeback and was the right definition of a comeback. When he was returning after such a long time, everyone was thinking how he would keep and bat in the longer format and how he would be in terms of nerves.” Saba Karim explained.
The keeping skill of Pant for the entire game was excellent, along with his 109-run knock, which came on the back of 13 boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of over 85.
“However, he dispelled all those thoughts not only with the way he batted but, in my opinion, how he kept as well. I agree that he missed a stumping chance today but, the stability he provides as a keeper and batter makes a huge impact on the team.” Saba Karim noted during the discussion.
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India will now aim to win this Bangladesh series as they move to Kanpur for the second game. After that, they will face New Zealand in a three-match red-ball series at home before raking the flight to Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
“The home domination we are talking about and the overseas domination we should be talking about after some time, I feel Rishabh Pant will have the biggest role in that.” Saba Karim concluded.