Matthew Hayden believes that Rishabh Pant would play a key role in India’s campaign at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that is set to get underway in November this year.
India’s wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant might mark his comeback in red-ball cricket after his horrific car accident back in December 2022. Rajasthan Royals star Dhruv Jurel earlier got the chance in the India vs. England Test series, where the young batter played a crucial role in the middle order to guide India to win the series by 4-1. There have been talks about his presence in the upcoming showdown, but it would be interesting to see if Jurel manages to get the chance in the series despite the presence of Test hero Rishabh Pant.
Back in January 2024, the 23-year-old cricketer earned his maiden call-up for the first two Tests against England. However, Jurel got the chance to make his debut in the third Test match against England in Rajkot. The star batter racked up 46 runs off 104 balls in his maiden inning but didn’t get the chance to bat in the later one as the side declared the innings at 430/4 on Day 4. But in the fourth Test match in Ranchi, Jurel piled up crucial 90 runs off 144 balls in the first inning to keep the hosts in the dominant spot, as his gritty innings helped India take an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the five-match series.
On the other hand, the Delhi Capitals captain was an outstanding player for India in the 2020-21 tour, notching up 89 off 97 balls in the last game. Team India bounced back from 36 all out in the opening Adelaide Test to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 for the second time. Virat Kohli had returned home after the Adelaide Test owing to the birth of Vamika, and five other players, including Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, were ruled out due to injury concerns.
However, Former Australia legend Matthew Hayden feels that India’s wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant is set to play a great role in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is set to commence on November 22 in Perth. Hayden feels that Aussie fans love the brand of cricket that Rishabh Pant brought during the epic showdown back in 2020-2021, where the middle-order batter made unbeaten 89 runs to win the series by 2-1 at the Gabba in Brisbane. The 26-year-old cricketer’s fearless approach to Test cricket against some of the bowlers was one of the main highlights of India’s tour. The 52-year-old legend feels that Pant has muscle memory and a thirst for wins in Test cricket, which makes him an exceptional cricketer.
“Guys like Rishabh Pant have got a muscle memory and the thirst for victory. He was such a key player last time he played there and the Australian public loved him as well, because of the nature of the way he played his game,” Hayden said at the CEAT Cricket Awards.
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