"Virat Kohli was at the other end but it seemed Rishabh Pant was batting on a different planet altogether" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has picked Rishabh Pant as India's best Test player of 2022. He highlighted that the youngster completely overshadowed Virat Kohli when they batted together in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Pant amassed 680 runs at an excellent average of 61.81 in the seven Tests he played last year. He struck two centuries and four half-centuries and scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 90.90.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on some of the star performers for Team India in 2022. Regarding Pant's Test century in South Africa, he observed:
"When we went to South Africa, we lost both Tests in the new year. But Rishabh Pant shone there as well. I remember the century he scored in the second innings. Virat Kohli was at the other end but it seemed Rishabh Pant was batting on a different planet altogether."
The former Indian batter placed the wicketkeeper-batter on a high pedestal in the game's longest format, elaborating:
"In my opinion, Rishabh has been India's best Test player in 2022. You can see that knock or the knock in Bangladesh, the way he creates excitement wherever Test cricket is played, he has the power to change the game on his own and conditions don't apply."
Chopra pointed out that the dashing batter was prolific with the bat even in overseas conditions, saying:
"It happens many times that when you go overseas, the conditions don't allow you to score too many runs but Rishabh Pant scored runs everywhere. He scored runs in India and even more outside India."
Pant scored 185 runs at an average of 61.67 in the two Tests he played in India last year. The southpaw amassed 495 runs, including both his centuries, at a slightly better average of 61.87 in the five Tests he played away from home.
"He is a gem" - Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant being considered one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batters
Chopra concluded by highlighting that Pant is being compared to all-time greats at a very young age, explaining:
"In fact, the discussion has already started that is he the greatest wicketkeeper of all time and he is not even 26 yet. Rishabh Pant is that good a player when you make him wear white clothes, when he plays red-ball cricket, he is a gem."
A look at #TeamIndia's Top Performers in Test cricket for the year 2⃣0⃣2⃣2⃣ 🫡
@RishabhPant17 @Jaspritbumrah93 https://t.co/YpUi2rjo3P
The renowned commentator also picked Mohammed Siraj and Cheteshwar Pujara as the other two positives for India from last year in Test cricket. He pointed out that while the former grew in stature, the latter made an excellent comeback after being dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka.