Legendary New Zealand cricketer Ian Smith lavished praise on Rishabh Pant, commenting ‘he’s just got that attitude.’ His comments followed the 26-year-old’s stunning century in the opening Test against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Smith expressed reservations about Pant’s skills behind the stumps, drawing comparisons to Australia great Adam Gilchrist. The 67-year-old also noted that it would be difficult for the youngster to surpass legendary cricketer MS Dhoni in terms of the hero factor.
“I like him (Rishabh Pant) because he’s just got that attitude. He’s not going to run away from a fight. If you ask him to open, he’ll open. If you ask him to bat at 5, he’ll do it. He is probably not the best gloveman the world has ever seen but he is working on it, getting better at it,” Smith said on talkSPORT cricket show.
“And that’s efficient because you spend so much of your day standing close to the stumps. He is a given, for me. He is Gilchrist-like in that regard. I rate him very highly,” he added.
The first Test against Bangladesh marked Pant’s return to red-ball cricket after a two-year hiatus due to a near-fatal car accident in December 2022. While he didn’t shine in India’s first innings, he seized his opportunity in the second, scoring his sixth Test ton. The wicketkeeper-batter also stitched a crucial 167-run stand with Shubman Gill (119), which was vital for India in their 280-run victory.
With this century, Pant equaled Dhoni’s record for the most hundreds by a wicketkeeper-batter for India. Meanwhile, Smith gave his take on the ongoing debate surrounding comparisons between Pant and Dhoni.
“I like Pant as a cricketer. It’s an extremely important role and he’s got massive shoes to fill because they’ve had a revolving door since Dhoni to be perfectly honest. You talk about hero factor, it’s pretty hard to go past MS,” Smith said further.
Scoring a century at Chepauk, Pant had said, “100 was special because I love playing in Chennai. After injury, I wanted to play all three formats and this was my first Test. Hope to get better every day.
“It was emotional, I wanted to score each and every match which didn’t happen but wanted to do well in Tests, which is where I belong the most. Being on the field gives me pleasure more than anything else. I am always nervous before matches, even after hitting a hundred. And this time I was playing after two years, so nervousness there.”
