India Vs England Test Series: Rishabh Pant Does What Others Can Only Dream Of, Says David Gower

Former England captain David Gower has little doubt that West Indian legend Brian Lara is the best left-hand batter of all time, but he said the mercurial Rishabh Pant performs what “others can only dream of and takes incredible to another level.”

Gower, one of the finest left-hand batters to have graced the game, could not stop gushing about Pant, who came out to bat with a broken foot on day two of the ongoing fourth Test.

The 68-year-old is working with the Lancashire Cricket Club for the duration of the game at Old Trafford.

“Tongue-in-cheek…we have always said left-handers are the best. For some reason when you look at left-handed batsmen it seems to be more graceful than right-handed. I've watched a lot of great left-handers from my days growing up, Gary Sobers for one, Brian Lara of course probably the best of those when I was first starting to grace commentary boxes and describe these things,” Gower told PTI.

“Now we have a guy called Ben Duckett, he has a very different style to mine but incredible to watch. Every time I look at him bat you're kind of wondering what happens next and you cannot forget especially in the context of this series, Rishabh Pant.”

Gower said the series would be poorer in Pant’s absence, if the Indian star is ruled out of the remainder of the series.

“I'm actually so sorry that he's injured, and if this foot thing is terminal (and he is out of the series). There is a man who does the things that only others dream of. Some people call them nightmares but he's an absolutely brilliant extraordinary player to watch.

“So, you cannot replicate what he does. You cannot ask a young player, say age 15-16 to bat like Rishabh Pant, go on try that because that would be probably fatal to their career.

“But when you've got someone like that who plays this most extraordinary version of the game you cannot but admire it. He takes incredible to another level,” said Gower.

Gower On Sudharsan, Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored runs in England despite looking vulnerable while Sai Sudharsan has shown glimpses of promise. However, his head position has come under the scanner.

“I'm not going to get into minor technicalities. Sudarshan looked in good touch here in this game in his comeback . Jaiswal is a very exciting player.

“At a very young age he has done some exceptionally good things. He's going to be around for a long time and will make thousands of runs and he does it in a very positive way,” said Gower.

Forever A fan Of K L Rahul

In the Indian squad, Gower finds K L Rahul the most pleasing to the eye.

“I've been a fan of KL's for a long time. Again easy on the eye uh he's very together that's not a very good word really but you know he's very organised. He's got time…we always say all the way through the history of the game if someone seems to have time to play shots be they attacking or defensive you'd say well there that's a sign of a good player.

“So, yeah, I’m a Rahul fan because I think he makes his runs in a very pleasing way,” he said.

Gower Bats For Test cricket

The elegant left-hander, who made 8231 runs from 117 Test matches, put forth a strong case for Test cricket.

“Only the big three play the most. I'm not in a position to advise those that run the game at this moment. But I'm in a position to put the case forward for Test cricket. I was a historian at school, therefore, I appreciate the value of history.

The 68-year-old then offered a curious analogy to drive in his point.

“I liken it to wildlife beards to use a potent example of tigers in India which have made a comeback because people have said we cannot let these animals get to extinction and the same thing to me applies to Test cricket. If we ever let it get to extinction, we are guilty of as great a sin as you can imagine,” he said.

Gower urged the BCCI, the richest cricket body, to make a push to keep Test cricket in a healthy shape, along with other influential boards.

“Therefore it takes those that have the power and we know the BCCI has immense power, immense influence but if they can combine with ECB and Cricket Australia, even with the nations that don't have the same resources — Cricket New Zealand, Cricket West Indies.

“With a bit of planning, with a bit of wits, with a bit of nails there is still plenty of time to be squeezed to enjoy the best of white ball cricket and to enjoy the best of red ball cricket,” he added.

Gower recently decided to auction some of his cricket belongings that have been kept in a box for three decades.

“A lot of my old kits, so lots of sweaters blazers bats and stuff I haven't seen for 30 years, it's been in an attic it's been in boxes and if I'm honest my entire family, my wife, my daughters we have accumulated so much stuff, to use a polite word, over the years that we are trying to have a big big clear out.

Out of the lot, the blue MCC blazer from the 1970s is something he found tough to part ways with.

“When I first toured for England which goes back to 1978 we still had the old MCC colors, so the blue blazer but with the bands of gold and red and the St George's badge."