Rishabh Pant becomes 2nd Indian left-handed wicket-keeper
Among the three changes that India made for the third Test, the inclusion of Rishabh Pant in place of out-of-form Dinesh Karthik was the most talked about. The excitement level of fans and cricket analysts is sky high after Pant's highly anticipated Test debut. The dashing Delhi batsman is known for his attacking brand of cricket, and he made his intentions very clear by hitting a six off the very second ball he faced in Test cricket.
While it has only been a single day of Test cricket for Rishabh Pant, he is already in the history books. India have produced only two wicket-keepers who can bat left-handed. Let's take a look at these two wicket-keepers.
#2 Rishabh Pant
A lot of eyebrows were raised when Rishabh Pant was selected for the England series as there have been questions about his temperament. However, he deserved to be in the team. The 20-year-old has a first-class average of 54.50 with a high strike-rate of 95.24. Pant has the ability to take the game away from the opposition with his attacking batting.
Pant announced himself in Test cricket with a big six off Adil Rashid. The southpaw became the 12th player in world cricket to get off the mark with a six, and the first Indian to achieve this feat. One of the main features of Pant's batting is his uncomplicated technique, and he keeps things simple.
#1 Parthiv Patel
The first Indian wicket-keeper to bat left-handed was Parthiv Patel. Parthiv made his debut for India as a 17-year-old way back in 2002. The stylish left-hander played some gritty innings for India in the initial part of his career but lost his place to the likes of Dinesh Karthik and MS Dhoni.
Even though Parthiv has managed to play only 25 Tests in a career spanning 16 years, he has been a force to reckon in domestic cricket. Regardless of whether he plays Test cricket again or not, he will always be the first wicket-keeper in the history of Indian cricket who batted left-handed.