Rohit Sharma Told Me 'When You Quit Cricket You'll Understand...' - Rishabh Pant Recalls Gabba Test Win

Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant opened up about the Gabba Test win that helped Team India seal the series against Australia for the second consecutive time. He revealed that Rohit Sharma came to him and made him realize what he had done.

Rishabh Pant was one of the main architects behind India’s famous win in Gabba in 2021. Team India breached Australia’s fortress and won the series by the margin of 2-1. It was for the first time in 32 years, the hosts lost a Test match in Brisbane.

While the senior players at one end were trying to hold the one end and force a draw, Rishabh Pant had other plans. He took attack to the Australian bowlers and smashed them all over the park, putting the bowlers under pressure.

Rishabh Pant relived the hopes of the Indian fans and made sure that he kept his team in the hunt. The keeper-batter counter-attacked and made Australia look clueless. The bowlers were looking threatening at one stage but he made sure he attacked them.

On the anniversary of the Gabba Test win, Rishabh Pant recalled the miraculous win. He stated that he wasn’t celebrating like others but it was Rohit Sharma who made him realise. He revealed the conversation and while speaking to Star Sports, he stated:

“I remember what Rohit Sharma said. A lot of people told me special things, but Rohit’s words, I remember it well. He was seeing my reaction. Everybody was happy, but he was not seeing me as excited as everyone else,” Pant told Star Sports.

“He told me ‘I don’t think you realise what you have done’. I told him ‘yeah, we won a match, we won a series here for the 2nd time’.

“He told me ‘when you quit cricket, you will understand the importance of this innings because you don’t know what you have done’. Then I realised what I had done,” he added.

Rishabh Pant played an unbeaten innings of 89 runs off 138 balls. He also hit 9 fours and 1 six in his innings. His heroics also saw him winning the Player of the Match. He also played a sensational innings in Sydney that helped India draw the game.

When I came into the Test team in 2018 – Rishabh Pant recalled the thought process under Virat Kohli & Ravi Bishnoi

Rishabh Pant, who made his Test debut in 2018, also revealed that when he came into the Test team, the thought process under Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri was to win a Test overseas. He elaborated:

“When I came into the Test team in 2018, the thought process under Virat Kohli Bhai & Ravi Bhai was to win in overseas – We want to be the best in the world”.

Rishabh Pant in a short span of time has emerged as the best keeper-batter for India in Test cricket. He’s the only keeper from the team to score centuries in England, Australia and South Africa. The southpaw is currently working hard in the NCA for his comeback.

Rishabh Pant met with a tragic accident in 2022. Since then he has been out of the action. The keeper-batter is likely to make a comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 for Delhi Capitals. The whole nation is eager to us come back. His absence was quite evident in some of the games that India lost. It remains to be seen how he will go about his business when he makes a return to competitive cricket.