Pant's Revolutionary Batting Redefining Cricket, Says Chappell

By Vijay Tagore

INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025

Greg Chappell believes Rishabh Pant is changing the landscape of cricket with his unconventional batting style. The former India coach exclaimed, "...and he's a match-winner," further noting, "very nearly made the difference in that game (at Headingley)."

India may have lost the Headingley Test, but Pant's brilliance shone through as he scored centuries in both innings © AFP

Despite India's loss in the Headingley Test, Pant's exceptional performance, marked by centuries in both innings, underscored his ability to shift the momentum of a game.

Chappell lauded the Indian wicketkeeper, saying, "The beauty of it (Pant's batting) is that he gets his runs at a very fast rate, which gives you time to win cricket matches. His was a phenomenal performance - some of the shots that he played probably weren't in the MCC coaching manual when I last looked at it. He is reinventing the game as a batsman."

Pant achieved a milestone by becoming only the second wicketkeeper-batter, following Andy Flower, to score a century in each innings of a Test match.

"You know, modern technology - the bats are very different. Obviously, you can play shots that weren't possible with the old bats. But man, he's exciting to watch. You never quite know what to expect from the first ball at any stage. He's likely to jump down the wicket to the fast bowlers, or he'll play the falling ramp shot. You never quite know what to expect, so it keeps the opposition on their toes," Chappell stated at a promotional event in Mumbai on Wednesday (June 25).

Chappell, considered one of Australia's greatest batters after Don Bradman, drew comparisons between Pant and Adam Gilchrist, another celebrated wicketkeeper.

He remarked, "What an exciting cricketer, what a player to have on your team. When I first saw him, he was a different sort of player, of course, but he reminded me very much of Adam Gilchrist. You know the difference that it can make to a team to have a wicketkeeper that can bat at that level and score runs quickly."

Gill's Captaincy Debut

Chappell also shared his thoughts on Shubman Gill's captaincy debut, suggesting he had a promising start and is poised for further improvement. "It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn't finish up on the correct side, but there were a lot of good things that they did. Shubman Gill had a great start to his career as a Test match captain. As a player, maybe the result didn't go the right way, but conditions were probably better for him on the last day than they were at any other stage in the Test match."

He added, "So he will have learned a lot from that. The Indian think tank will have learned a lot from what happened in the Test match. He will only get better and better as a captain. Had the team taken a few more catches and, maybe, if the tail had wagged a bit stronger in both innings, the result could have been very different. But I think there are four Test matches to go. Let's wait and see, but I think he made a very good start as captain."