Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Aussie legend claims Rishabh Pant will be a big difference-maker for India
Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Aussie legend claims Rishabh Pant will be a big difference-maker for India
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has backed India’s star batter Rishabh Pant to come good in the upcoming Test series against India as the two nations are set to collide in a high-voltage series. Speaking during an event in Mumbai on Tuesday (Oct 8), Watson recalled Pant’s heroics from the 2020-21 series where he helped India win the Gabba Test. According to Watson, Pant will have a big Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) as India look for a hat-trick of series wins Down Under.
Watson backs Pant to shine
"He's [Pant] obviously got great memories from his last tour that he had from a batting perspective in Australia," Watson said on the sidelines of the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai.
"That innings he played at the Gabba was something very special. So knowing that he's come through his challenges in the last couple of years to be able to come back as an even better player than what he left off, I think he's going to have a big series."
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Pant recently returned to the Indian Test side after almost 21 months having sustained injuries in a near-fatal car accident in December of 2022. He scored a hundred in the red-ball series against Bangladesh and is once again India’s number one choice wicketkeeper in the longer format. Since his return to cricket in March, Pant has led Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions while also playing a key role in India’s T20 World Cup win in the Caribbean in June.
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His next target will be to help India win another Test series Down Under having done so in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tour. In the latter series, Pant played a match-winning knock of unbeaten 89 runs as India won the Test while chasing 329 runs. The win also saw India pocket the series 2-1 having earlier lost the Adelaide Test, where Virat Kohli’s side was bowled out for 36 runs.