"Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant in one team could help India rule Test cricket, win World Test Championship" - Virender Sehwag
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag believes the explosive batters Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant together have the ability to send shivers down the spine of any opposition, even in Test cricket.
Pant has already shown what he is capable of in the longest format of the game, having played a number of match-defining knocks over the past couple of years. Despite a solid start to his Test career, Shaw has been found wanting against the swinging ball and has been dropped from the Test team.
Shaw brings excitement to Test match cricket...he will falter at times but he will bring in fans through turnstiles to watch Test cricket. He may just be a Sehwag like talisman that Indian cricket is yearning for at the top of the order!
However, while speaking on Sports 18 show 'Home of Heroes', Sehwag claimed that if both these players find their mojo, India could be unstoppable in Test cricket for years to come. He said:
"He (Prithvi Shaw) is a player who can bring back the excitement in Test cricket. Opposition will have to think if 400 would be enough with Shaw and Pant in our ranks. Shaw and Pant in one team could help India rule Test cricket, win World Test Championship."
Aggressive Batsman who succeeded in Test Cricket
1) Vivian Richards (Runs - 8540, SR - 86.07, Ave.- 50.24)
2) Virender Sehwag (Runs - 8586, SR - 82.23, Ave.- 49.34)
3) Adam Gilchrist (Runs - 5570, SR - 81.96, Ave.- 47.61)
(Rishabh Pant will definitely feature in this list)
If Rishabh Pant opens, he will be far more successful: Virender Sehwag
Being a successful opener himself, Virender Sehwag understands the kind of freedom that a destructive batter like Rishabh Pant would get if he was sent to the top of the order.
Interestingly, Pant played as an opener for India's U19 team in the 2016 World Cup and also had an impact in the IPL initially at the same position. While Rishabh Pant hasn't quite been consistent in the middle-order in white-ball cricket, Sehwag feels opening might just bring the best out of him. He opined:
"We don’t play limited-overs to score 50 or 100 but to score at a brisk pace, no matter the situation or the opposition. At no. 4 or 5, he will find himself in situations that demand greater responsibility, but if he opens, he will be far more successful."
Pant will play a crucial role for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup and it will be interesting to see how captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid utilize him.