Rishabh Pant plundered a counterattacking 146 against England at Edgbaston and followed it up with another 57 in the second innings of the same Test. The cricketer now averages a proficient 43.32 after 31 Tests and is currently India's highest ranked Test batsman (at number 5), as per the latest ICC rankings.
Surprisingly, despite being labelled as a white-ball expert, Pant's Test average is much higher than his ODI and T20I averages.
The dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman averages 32.50 in ODIs and a meagre 23.15 after 48 T20I matches.
Former Indian captain and active commentator Sunil Gavaskar believes that Pant will do well as an opener in white-ball cricket. The legendary cricketer is of the opinion that the youngster could be as aggressive as former Australian opener Adam Gilchrist at the top of the order for India.
While speaking on Sports Today, Gavaskar said:
"Not a bad option at all. Look at what Adam Gilchrist did for Australia in white-ball cricket. He used to bat at No.6 or 7 in Test cricket but while opening in white-ball cricket he was destructive. Maybe someone like Rishabh Pant can be equally destructive, he will get that many more overs to play".
"We have been talking about him as a finisher but then he comes in there, starts slamming the ball and straight away gets out. Here, he will have the awareness that he doesn't have to go bang-bang from the first ball. He will have a few deliveries to get used to the pace and movement. In England, there will be a little more movement even with the white ball than anywhere else. That can actually work in India's favour," he added.
Notably, Pant also opened for the Indian Under-19 team at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The left-handed batsman amassed 267 runs in six matches, which included a match-winning ton against Namibia in the quarter-finals.
In a group game of the same tournament against Nepal, the cricketer punched out a 24-ball 78 while opening alongside Ishan Kishan.
Rishabh Pant, the road ahead
The 24-year-old is now set to feature in India's twin white-ball series against England. The 'Men in Blue' are set to play three T20Is, and three ODIs across England and the first T20I will be played at Southampton on July 7.