Rishabh Pant is the most valuable player in modern-day Test cricket because of the consistent entertainment he offers, former India opener Aakash Chopra said. Pant was at his dominant best on Saturday, helping India recover from a tricky situation on Day 2 of the third and final Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Rishabh Pant, who walked into bat on Friday evening after 15 minutes of madness from the Indian cricket team, was tasked with the responsibility of starting the day well with the bat. Pant did exactly that, but in his own style, as he punched left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel for two boundaries in the first over of the day’s play.

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Pant continued to be aggressive against the New Zealand spinners, denying the visiting bowlers any success in the first hour of the day’s play. Pant and Shubman Gill added 96 runs for the fifth wicket, steering the team out of trouble after they collapsed from 78 for 1 to 84 for 4 in a span of 15 minutes on Day 1 evening.

“I believe he is the most valuable player in modern-day Test cricket. Not just in India, but across the world. Let’s forget Bazball, that’s all talk. Look at the consistency with which Rishabh Pant is playing. He is adding so much value to Test cricket with the way he is entertaining the fans. I think he will define this generation in Test cricket,” Aakash Chopra told JioCinema.

Rishabh Pant hit a 36-ball fifty, breaking the record for the fastest fifty by an Indian batter in Test cricket against New Zealand. Pant missed out on an opportunity to get to a three-figure score as he fell for 60 before Lunch to leg-spinner Ish Sodhi.

‘PANT IS LIKE VIRENDER SEHWAG’

Chopra, meanwhile, praised Pant’s ability to dominate left-arm spinners, likening him to Virender Sehwag.

“I don’t think batting involves a lot of thinking.., I am talking about when you are in the middle. It’s about executing. You do your thinking and planning before you head out to the middle. When you are in the middle, it’s about reacting to situations. You have to see the ball and react. Pant does that very well with a lot of belief.

“He is like Virender Sehwag. Sehwag used to smash off-spinners. Pant is doing the same to left-arm spinners. If he is facing a left-arm spinner, he hits them out of the park, regardless of the conditions and the size of the ground,” he added.

Rishabh Pant has been in sensational form since his return to Test cricket. He scored a hundred in his comeback Test against Bangladesh in Chennai. He hit a 99 against New Zealand in the first Test in Bengaluru, continuing from where he left against Bangladesh.

Pant was gutted to miss out on a big score as India were in the driver’s seat after having dominated the first session on Day 2 of the third Test.