Rishabh Pant is very close to how he used to bat in Test cricket, said former India captain Virender Sehwag while comparing the youngster’s batting with himself. Sehwag was termed as one of the most dangerous openers of his era.
The right-hander from Najafgarh made his Test debut in 2001 against South Africa and scored a ton in that match. He later became the first Indian to score a triple century in Tests, which came in Multan against Pakistan in 2004. In 2008, he became only the fourth batter in Tests to score more than one triple century, when he scored 319 against South Africa and joined the likes of Sir Don Bradman, Chris Gayle and Brian Lara.
In the end, Sehwag ended his career in 2015 with 8586 runs in 104 Tests and 8273 runs in 251 ODIs. He also scored a double century in ODIs and was the first captain to do so, when he scored 219 against West Indies in 2011.
The 44-year-old talked about two current batters who were very close to how he used to play in their batting styles- Rishabh Pant and Prithvi Shaw. However, the veteran opener also pointed out Pant is satisfied with 90-100 in Tests but his aim was to convert it into big scores.
“I don’t think so there is any player in the Indian team who bats like me. The two players who came to my mind who have come close to it are Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant. I think Rishabh Pant is a little bit close to what I used to bat like in Test cricket but he is satisfied with 90-100 but I used to get satisfied with 200, 250 and 300. If he took his game to that level then I think he can entertain the fans even more,” Sehwag said during News18 India Chaupal.
Rishabh Pant is out of action as he recovers from his near-fatal accident in December 2022 and recently underwent knee surgery, which has reportedly put him out for atleast one year.
The Risk Percentage Rate Dropped From 100 To 20: Virender Sehwag On Hitting 6s And 4s When Nearing Three-Figure Mark
The 44-year-old said that his mindset was to hit big scores when he reached 90s and wanted to his boundaries to reach the milestone figures.
“I used to play tennis ball cricket where my mindset was to hit more runs through boundaries. I played with the same template in international cricket and used to calculate how many boundaries I need to score a century. If I am on 90 and to reach 100 if I take 10 balls then the opposition has 10 balls to get me out, which is why I used to go for boundaries and gave them only two balls to stop me reaching the triple figure-mark. The risk percentage rate dropped from 100 to 20,” Sehwag asserted.