Australia batting legend and former India head coach said Rishabh Pant is “reinventing the game as a batsman” after he smashed centuries in each innings of the first Test against England at Leeds. Pant hit 134 (off 178 balls, 12 fours and six sixes) and 118 (off 140 balls, 15 fours and three sixes) in the first Test, which India lost by five wickets on Tuesday as well. Chappell also said Pant has been playing strokes that are not even in the “MCC playing manual”.

“When I first saw him, he reminded me of Adam Gilchrist…a different sort of player, of course, but…the difference it can make to a team when a wicketkeeper can bat at that level and to score runs quickly. The beauty is Rishabh gets runs at a very fast rate which gives you time to win cricket matches. His was a phenomenal performance. Some of the shots he played weren’t in the MCC playing manual. He is really reinventing the game as a batsman. With modern technology, the bats are very different and you can play shots which weren’t possible with the old bats. He’s exciting to watch,” Chappell said during a promotional event organised by str8bat as well.

He also said one can never know what Rishabh Pant can come up with on the cricket field.

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“You never quite know what to expect from him from the first ball. At any stage he is likely to jump down the wicket to the fast bowlers or play the falling ramp shot. You never quite know what to expect. It keeps the opposition on their toes. He is a match winner (and he) very nearly made the difference in that game,” Chappell further added.

Chappell also stated Shubman Gill had a good start as the Indian Test captain, even though India lost in the opening Test of the five-match series as well.

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“It was a terrific Test match. Sadly, India didn’t finish on the correct side of the ledger. There were a lot of good things for them. Shubman Gill had a great start as a captain and as a player even if they did not get the result. Conditions were probably better on the last day than they were at any other stage of the Test match. Both Gill and the Indian think tank would have learned a lot on what to take forward. Gill will only get better and better. I think his start was pretty good. Had the team taken more catches and the tail wagged a bit, the results could have been very different,” Greg Chappell concluded.