Former England batsman Ian Bell heaped praise on Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper-batsman played yet another crucial knock to help India win the 3rd ODI in Pune on Sunday.
“I can’t imagine now an Indian side without him in it. It just feels like it. He’s the future around some world class players.
“We’ve seen a mature series and that’s quite rate at the moment for seeing someone playing like that. I think it’s a rare talent and this is just the start of him now having a successful career. Incredible to watch, a real match-winner,” Bell said on ESPNCricinfo.
Pant has been incredible form this year in all three formats. He starred with the bat during the Australian Test series in January and has carried that form over to white-ball cricket in the last couple of months.
“He’s had a fantastic series, hasn’t he? Across all three formats. I saw a real calmness about him today. It’s not only high-risk, slogging or anything like that.
“Also, he gets off strike and rotates it. So I imagine that those bowlers at the end of their mark are thinking that if they get it slightly wrong, Pant does hurt them. We’ve seen a maturity as this series has gone on. That Test match hundred again would have given him a lot of confidence.”
India backed up the batsmen’s efforts by restricting England to 322 for 9 with Shardul Thakur (4 for 67) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3 for 42) starring with the ball for the hosts.
