Mohammad Kaif said Rishabh Pant is India’s biggest match-winner in Test cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter has 2,419 runs in 34 Tests at an average of 44.8, but Kaif feels Pant will only get better and is yet to hit his peak in red-ball cricket.

Pant didn’t play Test cricket for almost two years after being involved in an unfortunate road accident in December 2022. He made his return to red-ball cricket in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai and smashed his sixth hundred. He slammed 39 in the first innings and then followed it up with a 128-ball 109 in the second essay.

“Rishabh Pant wasn’t there the last time when England toured India. Pant has been the biggest match-winner for India, coming in at No. 5-6, he has played many match-winning knocks, none bigger than the innings at the Gabba that all remember. He has hit hundreds in tough conditions in South Africa and England also,” Kaif, who played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India, told the Times of India.

“So I think Rishabh Pant, stat wise, is best suited to Test cricket, that’s his best format. There is no need for the Indian think tank to think of anybody other than Rishabh Pant. His best is yet to come, he is yet to hit his prime when he’ll be around 27, his game will become more refined and then he will hit his peak. So Rishabh Pant’s best time is yet to come, especially in Test cricket.”

Kaif also spoke about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who didn’t do much in the first Test against Bangladesh, which India won by 280 runs. When asked if these two are past their prime and should India start looking for their successors, Kaif said, “They [Virat and Rohit] will play on for some time. 

“They have retired from T20Is, but Rohit is doing a good job as captain, just won the T20 World Cup. And Virat believes that Test cricket is the ‘toughest format’ of the three formats that we play and he would love to excel in it. He (Virat) is supremely fit, so there’s no worry, no hurry. As long as they [Virat and Rohit] maintain their fitness and form, there’s any reason to think about it.”

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