"Pant is the best package" - Aakash Chopra on whether more keepers should be added to India's Test squad seeing Rishabh Pant's performances
Aakash Chopra believes Rishabh Pant is the best package among all Indian wicketkeeper-batters, despite the southpaw's lowly returns with the bat in recent months.
Pant was the recipient of a lot of criticism for throwing away his wicket in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test. There have been calls in certain quarters for the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter to be dropped from the Indian side for the Cape Town Test.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked if more keepers like Ishan Kishan should be added to the Indian Test squad, considering Pant's recent performances. He responded:
"Maybe Kona Bharat because he bats well, Ishan Kishan bats well, both are keepers. Sanju Samson also bats well and is a decent keeper. But in all these names, Pant is the best package. If you talk just about the wicketkeeping, KS Bharat is No. 1 among those who are out, Wriddhiman Saha is part of the team."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Pant had an exceptional 2021 before India's trip to England. Chopra elaborated:
"Ishan Kishan is a good package. He has made a lot of runs in first-class cricket. But if you see the year 2021 for Pant, the England tour might not have been good but Australia was extremely good, and he did very well when England came to India."
Jos Buttler (in Telegraph) said "One player I really enjoyed seeing play Tests in Australia was Rishabh Pant - I love the way he can change his game between the defensive side and aggressive side - he is totally fearless as well".
Pant averaged 64.37 with the bat in the first six Tests he played in 2021. However, he has averaged a lowly 19.23 in the last seven Tests he has played.
"Rishabh Pant is an X-factor" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra added that it is too early to lose faith in Pant. He reasoned:
"The first half was brilliant actually. India had only two players who had an average above 40, one was Rohit and the other was Rishabh Pant. So I won't lose hope that quickly because he is an X-factor."
The 44-year-old concluded by pointing out that the youngster also allows Team India to play an additional frontline bowler. Chopra explained:
"He is 25 years old, he will make mistakes and will learn from them. There are very few keepers who allow you to play a different combination, you can play five full bowlers because Rishabh Pant can bat."
Virat Kohli on Rishabh Pant:
"Everyone makes mistakes, the important thing is to realise your mistake. MS dhoni once told me that if you make a mistake be sure not to repeat that for atleast 7-8 months. That lesson has stayed with me."
However, Aakash Chopra did acknowledge that the shot Pant played in the Johannesburg Test was not on. He added that everything will be fine if the dashing batter just respects the situation and the conditions.