In December 2020, as India started the four-match Test series against Australia on their home soil, Rishabh Pant was not the first pick for wicket-keeper as Virat Kohli chose to go with the experience of Wriddhiman Saha instead.
By the end of the series, he was India’s highest-scorer, with 274 runs in 5 innings. In the home series against England that followed, he made 270 runs in 6 Test innings to finish as the third-highest scorer with equally impressive performances across the other formats as well. In April, he was made Delhi Capitals’ captain after regular skipper Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to an injury and on Thursday, he has been named in India’s starting XI for the big World Test Championship final.
The turnaround in fortune may surprise many but as former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh told The Quint, the 23-year-old has earned his way back to the top.
‘Sport is a great leveller, it shows you great highs and lows of life and he’s worked very hard, he has bounced back. It shows that he has the ‘x-factor’. He’s been great in Test cricket, the way he and Shubman batted in Australia, it shows how great these young kids are. They huge potential. Rishabh showed a lot of character as Delhi Capitals’ captain and I really feel he is the future captain of India,’ he said.
Shubman Over Mayank
With India leaving Mayank Agarwal out of the 15-man squad they announced two days before the start of the World Test Championship final, it became clear that Virat will be continuing with the team’s newest opening pair in Tests - Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Mayank was dropped during the tour of Australia and has not seen managed to earn his spot back even as Shubman opened during England’s India tour and scored 120 runs in seven innings.
Yuvraj though believes his time will come.
‘Mayank did really well for India. It is unfortunate he didn't get too many chances to play for India. The moment Shubman got an opportunity, he grabbed it. It’s unfortunate for Mayank but I think if he keeps patient, he will get his opportunity soon. He’s got great talent, he’s done really well and yes, hopefully he comes back,’ said Yuvraj.
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