Matthew Hayden thinks Rishabh Pant will be important for India’s efforts in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which starts in November.
Hayden mentioned that the Australian fans really enjoyed the style of cricket Pant showed in the exciting series from the 2020-21 tour. During that tour, Pant, who is a wicketkeeper and batter, played a big part in India winning the series by winning the last Test match in Brisbane. Pant’s brave way of playing against top bowlers was one of the best parts of the tour.
“Players like Rishabh Pant have a strong muscle memory and a strong desire to win. He was a very important player the last time he played there, and the Australian fans really liked him because of how he played the game,” Hayden said to the media during the Cricket Rating Awards 2024 on Wednesday.
“It was thrilling. It was creative. It was just new and enjoyable. Then you have experienced players, like Virat Kohli, who will want to make an impact again. From a batting perspective, I’m excited to see how India plans to handle the Australian conditions,” the Australian added.
In the 2020-21 series, Virat Kohli, who was the captain of the Indian team at that time, could only play in the first match, which India lost badly. However, Hayden believes that Kohli would still show his skill with the bat and enjoy competing against the strong Australian bowling team.
Hayden, who won the World Cup, also said that India always has the ability to compete with Australia. He pointed out that even though many players were injured and couldn’t play, India still managed to win the series.
“From an Indian perspective, the impressive part is that their last win didn’t include Virat Kohli. It was a backup bowling lineup that won at the Gabba,” Hayden mentioned.
“This gives the Indian team confidence to visit our country and say, ‘We’ve achieved this before, and we did it exceptionally well, even without our main players,'” he continued.
The Indian cricket team will return to play at home against Bangladesh in a two-match Test series next month.
