Ever since Rishabh Pant hit his maiden Test century, only in his career’s third Test, at the Oval against England in 2018, the youngster has been compared with and to Australian legend Adam Gilchrist.
For both are wicket-keepers, both bat lower down the order for their respective Test teams; both quite chirpy behind the stumps. And both absolutely love to play their shots with freedom, score rapidly and smash the bowling attack to smithereens.
Four months after his maiden Test ton in England, Pant then recorded the same feat in Gilchrist’s country, when in January 2019, the left-hander registered a century in Sydney.
How old was Rishabh Pant when Adam Gilchrist made his Test debut?
Adam Gilchrist made his Test debut on November 5, 1999, at the Gabba against Pakistan, and scored 81 runs off 88 balls. Rishabh Pant, who was born on October 4, 1997, in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, was only a little over 2 years old when Adam Gilchrist made his Test debut.
Passionate for cricket, Pant then moved from Roorkee to Delhi to Rajasthan, then returned to Delhi. Pant made his first-class and List-A debut in 2015. He made a name for himself in the 2016 under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh where he had immense success as an opener. An IPL contract from Delhi Daredevils came and it rocketed his career up.
With Dhoni at the fag end of his career, and Pant having shown his talent and glimpses of his scintillating ball-muscling ability, the youngster was fast-tracked in India’s T20I team in 2017, followed by ODI and Test debuts in 2018. A few ups and down in the first three years of his career, but now Pant is an established player in India’s team across formats.
Adam Gilchrist lavishes praise on Pant
Earlier this year, Adam Gilchrist himself commented Pant, hailing the cricketers as someone who can deliver unforeseen results, and called the southpaw as someone who is really exciting to watch.
“I love wicketkeeper-batsmen, particularly left-handers. And Rishabh is a dangerous player, who can produce unexpected results. He’s so exciting to watch, that’s a sign of a quality player,” said Gilchrist at an event in New South Wales.
“Rishabh is aggressive, but while he takes risks, he also believes in his skills to get the job done. And he is doing that more consistently, which is fantastic,” he added.
