I Absolutely Adore The Way He Plays His Cricket: Graeme Swann On Rishabh Pant

Graeme Swann, former England spinner, had picked talented wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant as someone who has impressed him the most as far as young Indian talents are concerned.

Speaking on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’ the former England off-spinner recalled Rishabh Pant’s Test debut (vs England at Trent Bridge in 2018) when the left-hander strokes his very first delivery for a six.

Swann recalled that it was the moment that made him feel that Rishabh Pant could be something special in Test cricket.

The name came up there, Rishabh Pant. I absolutely adore the way he plays his cricket. Irfan’s so right. Because he has someone backing him. You remember in the Test series when he came to England and first ball or second ball at Trent Bridge, he hit the spin bowler back over his head for six. I thought at that moment that this guy would be something special in Test cricket, because he is a youngster and yet he backs his game. He’s got the team around him who backs up,” Swann said during Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

Rishabh Pant has endured a torrid time with the bat as well as with the gloves in the past 12 months

Pant made a sensational start to his Test career when he became the first Indian wicket-keeper to stroke hundreds in England and Australia.

However, his exploits in white-ball cricket haven’t been up to the mark just yet. Hailed as the natural successor to MS Dhoni, Pant lost his place as a specialist wicketkeeper earlier this year to KL Rahul after a string of below-par performances with both bat as well as with the gloves.

He did make a comeback to the Test team during the New Zealand but failed to make any sort of impact, finishing with 60 runs across four innings.

Also Read: Rishabh Pant Is ‘Great’ Talent Getting Wasted: Kirti Azad