Pant targets golden 50th test amid white-ball reset
Rishabh Pant’s childhood coach Devender Sharma backs the wicketkeeper-batter to shine in his milestone 50th Test against Afghanistan
New Delhi: India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will notch up his 50th Test appearance when the hosts face Afghanistan in a one-off match starting in New Chandigarh on Saturday. Devender Sharma, his childhood coach at the Sonnet Club, called the milestone “a very big deal,” adding that Pant’s recent IPL struggles will not define his red-ball prowess.
Before Pant, only MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani had played more than 50 Tests for India as designated wicketkeeper-batters. However, the past few weeks have been turbulent for Pant. After scoring just 312 runs in 14 games for the Lucknow Super Giants—who finished at the bottom of the IPL 2026 points table—he was stripped of the Indian Test team’s vice-captaincy and dropped from the ODI squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan.
“This is a massive milestone for him. To be on the verge of playing his 50th Test match as a wicketkeeper-batter for India is a huge achievement for Rishabh. One must remember that the IPL is a white-ball tournament, while Test cricket is played with a red ball, which makes the two formats completely different,” Sharma said in an exclusive conversation with IANS on Thursday.
“We all know that Rishabh is a champion player in red-ball cricket. On India’s last overseas tour of England, he scored twin tons in Leeds, and despite sustaining a foot fracture, he came out to bat and hit a crucial fifty. Playing 50 Test matches for India is a big deal for anyone, let alone a keeper-batter.
“Rishabh is an incredibly successful red-ball cricketer and a proven match-winner for India. Mentally, he is very strong. As a coach, I am confident he will perform exceptionally well in all the red-ball games scheduled for the rest of the year, starting with the match against Afghanistan,” Sharma added.
In 49 Tests, Pant has amassed 3,476 runs at an average of 42.91 and a blistering strike rate of 74.24, including eight centuries and 18 fifties. However, Pant cut a subdued figure during IPL 2026, a dip in form Sharma attributes to the burdens of captaincy and minor technical errors.
“In the IPL, his primary focus as captain was to win matches for LSG. In that process, he took too much responsibility upon himself, and the expected results didn’t pan out. LSG had some wins early on, but as the losses mounted later, the pressure intensified on him.
“Additionally, he was playing too many strokes, and too many of his shots were directed toward the off-side, which led to his dismissals. T20 cricket is full of ups and downs; players inevitably hit lean patches where they lose their peace of mind.
“Even though Rishabh didn’t score as expected in the IPL, I am sure he will fare well in red-ball cricket. I have advised him to play more vertical strokes and fewer horizontal shots. Furthermore, he shouldn’t just try to collect runs on the on-side; he needs to look to play through the off-side properly, as we know he is highly capable there.
“It didn’t click in the IPL, but that’s part and parcel of the game. If he gets a good start against Afghanistan, he will be back to his run-scoring best. Match-winners like him need just one good innings to turn things around,” he elaborated.
Sharma was equally effusive about Pant’s stature in Test cricket, harking back to 2018 when he famously smashed Adil Rashid for a six off his very first ball in Test cricket at Trent Bridge. Sharma noted that few Indian batters have dominated overseas conditions quite like Pant in recent times—a claim backed by the fact that six of his eight Test centuries have come outside India.
“His journey as a Test cricketer has been phenomenal. From the very beginning, he has dominated overseas Tests in Australia, England, and South Africa. No contemporary Indian wicketkeeper-batter has matched his record of scoring centuries abroad.
Sharma also firmly believes that Pant still has a bright future across all three formats. “As a coach, I still believe he can play all three formats for India at any given time. In ODIs, he was dropped without getting a fair run in a 50-over game after August 2024. How can a player score runs if he isn’t given opportunities? Given the chance, he will prove his caliber across formats.”
Sharma signed off by pointing to Pant’s miraculous comeback from a near-fatal car crash in December 2022 as ultimate proof of his mental fortitude. “If you are not mentally strong, you cannot survive at the international level. We have all seen how he fought his way back to play for India after that horrific accident. He is mentally ironclad and will not let the team down.”