Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper to enter the top 10 of the ICC men’s Test Rankings for batsmen.
Pant attained a career-high 6th position in the ICC Test batting charts. He has been in sensational form in India’s last two Test series – away against Australia and at home versus England.
Pant also notched his third Test century during this period with his counter-attacking knock against England in the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad.
His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Delhi Capitals, took to Twitter to congratulate him on the feat.
After being dropped from India’s white-ball squad for their Australia tour after a quiet IPL 2020 season, Pant has turned things around in the next six months.
He hit two crucial half-centuries against Australia, with one helping them secure an unlikely draw in Sydney and the other sealing a win against all odds at the hosts’ Gabba fortress.
Against England, he hit a 92 in the first Test and followed it up with an unbeaten 58 in the second.
After a low-scoring match in the third Test in Ahmedabad, Pant hit a match-winning century in the fourth to help India seal a 3-1 series win.
After some quickfire cameos in the T20 International series, Pant again shone in the ODI series that followed.
Coming in for the injured Shreyas Iyer in the second ODI after being left on the bench for the first, Pant hit a swashbuckling 77 off just 40 deliveries.
In the series decider, Pant helped the hosts avert a collapse, hitting a watchful 62-ball 78.
Surjitt Sahani
