“Save Those For IPL”: Rishabh Pant Receives Blunt Warning Ahead Of 4th England Test

Former Indian cricket team wicket-keeper Farokh Engineer issued a direct warning to Rishabh Pant before the fourth Test match against England at Old Trafford. Pant is famous for his unconventional batting approach, and in the initial three games, he displayed a variety of daring shots—some of which resulted in significant rewards for him. Nevertheless, the Engineer advised Pant to reserve the risky shots for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and, taking into account his position in the Top 4 for the Indian cricket team, urged Pant to adopt discipline in his gameplay and focus on constructing his innings to accumulate more runs.

“Absolutely. Save those for IPL. Test cricket demands discipline. From a number three or four, you expect them to play proper cricket, get big scores, and build innings,” he told.

“He has the confidence and has gotten away with it often. But he needs to be more responsible in crucial moments, like right before lunch or at the end of a day’s play. Still, he’s immensely talented. He invents his own shots, and thankfully, helmets allow that now. In our time, we wouldn’t have had any teeth left.”

Pant did not keep wickets for the majority of the third Test after suffering a finger injury. However, Engineer believes that Pant can make the playing XI as a pure batter as well.

“For the runs he’s scored, yes, he can play as a pure batter. But Rishabh is unpredictable. Whatever comes to his mind, he does it. I joked with him about his shot selection, and he just laughed—said he does what feels right in the moment. Rishabh has scored centuries in both innings of a Test, which is remarkable. So yes, he could play purely as a batsman, especially with England’s strong bowling lineup, now including Jofra Archer and Atkinson,” said Engineer.