Pant is one for future: Ganguly

Kolkata: Former captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday hailed India’s historic Test series win in Australia and said wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is one for the “future”.

Having made his Test debut in August 2018, the 21-year-old Pant has gone from strength to strength, scoring a Test hundred each in England and Australia within months.

In Australia, Pant amassed 350 runs in seven innings, the second highest after Cheteshwar Pujara, while behind the stumps he broke the record for most catches — 20 — by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test series.

“He will be a superb player for India in the future. He has been so good in the series and in future also, he will shine,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture against Punjab.

Rain played spoilsport in the fourth and final Test as the Virat Kohli-led side won the series 2-1, ending a 71-year wait to win their first series Down Under.

Australia were 316 in arrears when the match was called off, leaving India with a 2-1 triumph after wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. Australia won in Perth.

Terming their win terrific, Ganguly said: “It’s a terrific win. They played excellent cricket througout and the batting clicked. They scored 400-600 runs and that was the key.” 

“Bumrah and Pujara were simply brilliant. They played big roles behind the win,” Ganguly said, while also giving credit to pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who claimed 21 wickets in four Tests at an average of 17.00, including a five-for.

Pujara amassed 521 runs at 74.42, scoring three hundreds to be adjudged both Man of the Match and Man of the Series.

Asked to compare Kohli’s side with teams of the past including his side that drew 1-1 in 2003-04, Ganguly said: “I don’t compare ever. So I can’t answer that question.