'Naturally gifted, but very fearless' - Ex-India coach's assessment of Rishabh Pant

Former India cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has revealed his first experience of watching the star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the net session, when he was fresh into the Indian dressing room. At that time, Bangar was India's batting coach, and he was quick to notice the fearlessness and the mindset that Pant carried along with him, be it in the nets or on the 22-yards.

Pant has been made the vice-captain of the Indian Test team on the basis of consistent performances in the red-ball set-up. According to Bangar, this approach is pre-installed inside Pant's mind while he steps onto the field, which has yielded him early success at the highest level. The Beed-born also shared hearing about Pant through Delhi's Ashish Nehra.

"I had heard from Ashish Nehra that Rishabh is a very good player who's going to progress very quickly. He is a naturally gifted batter. But, he's also very fearless. I saw the first sign of his fearlessness in the nets itself. He used to tell the bowlers to bowl quickly and attack his body. Very few batters have had this mindset. He had just begun playing the IPL back then. So Nehra's assessment was correct. After a long time, we've found a wicketkeeper who can bat in the top-5," Bangar told via Doordarshan Sports.

Speaking more of Pant, the Haridwar-born is currently recovering from a toe fracture that he unfortunately underwent during the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, while batting during the first innings of the game at the Old Trafford, Manchester. He was subsequently ruled out of the fifth Test, but had a brilliant series otherwise, scoring 479 runs in just seven innings, which also includes three brave centuries against the Englishmen.

The next assignment in the red-ball format for the Indian team is during the home series against the West Indies. The series is set to begin on October 2 with the first match set to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Indian team fans will be hoping for a return to fitness for Pant ahead of the all-important two-match series.