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Former Sri Lanka national cricket team captain Angelo Mathews compared Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant with the former Team India opener Virender Sehwag amid the India vs Sri Lanka Test match in Galle.
The retired Sri Lankan cricketer mentioned that Rishabh Pant could be destructive at any point of the match. Since India's preparations for the two-match Test series, Rishabh Pant has been maintaining a top position in cricket debates, mostly because of his batting style, which is aggressive as well as unpredictable.
Angelo Mathews suggests the Sri Lanka cricket team keep a keen eye on Rishabh Pant
With an unorthodox batting style, the keeper-batter, Rishabh Pant, is always considered an X-factor for the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game.
Speaking to the Times of India, Angelo Mathews said that one single moment of brilliance can change the whole complexion of the game. When he was captain of the Sri Lanka cricket team, mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis used to be the team's main weapon.
Angelo Mathews recalled the moment when Virender Sehwag took all the aura away from Ajantha Mendis
On subcontinental tracks, he was almost impossible to play until Mendis faced Virender Sehwag. Sehwag single-handedly took on the spinner and dragged India back in the contest. Similar things can repeat if Rishabh Pant plays his natural game in Galle, the former skipper mentioned.
"I remember when Ajanta Mendis was running through the Indian batting line-up, Sehwag was the one standing tall. He was so destructive and such a disruption. Pant is such a player," Angelo Mathews said in the interview.
"Pant takes the game on as soon as he walks into the crease. So, bowlers, watch out. A player like that needs backing. A guy like that who can take the game away within a few hours should be backed," he added.
The last time Sri Lanka defeated India on their own ground was in 2015 in Galle, where the 1st Test of the ongoing series was played, and Mathews was the captain. With all his experience, the former pace-bowling all-rounder mentioned that rank turners on home conditions could prove fatal for the hosts themselves, as it happened multiple times in the past.
Rank turners can backfire for Sri Lanka: A warning from Angelo Mathews
Mathews points out that the Indian cricket team played on spin-friendly tracks against New Zealand and South Africa, which did not help them win the series. Sri Lanka also suffered the same. In the ongoing series, both of the venues, Galle and Colombo, are expected to be spin-friendly pitches. Mathews feared that it could backfire on the host.
"If I am not mistaken, India played on quite a few ranked turners against New Zealand and South Africa. Sometimes, it could backfire. We played on ranked turners against foreign teams, and it has backfired for us as well. Because it's not easy as a batsman to play on ranked turners, no matter how good you are," the former cricketer issued the warning to the home team.
