“Very few batters have had this mindset” - Sanjay Bangar reveals Ashish Nehra’s prediction on Rishabh Pant

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Bangar has revealed that the former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra had predicted the keeper-batter Rishabh Pant to emerge as a fearless batter in the days to come for the Indian team.

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Speaking exclusively on Doordarshan Sports, Bangar asserted that he saw the first sign of Pant’s fearlessness in the nets. He also added that Pant used to remind bowlers to bowl quickly and attack his body. He hailed Nehra’s assessment of Pant.

"I had heard from Ashish Nehra that Rishabh is a very good player who's going to progress very quickly. He is a naturally gifted batter. But, he's also very fearless. I saw the first sign of his fearlessness in the nets itself. He used to tell the bowlers to bowl quickly and attack his body. Very few batters have had this mindset. He had just begun playing the IPL back then. So Nehra's assessment was correct. After a long time, we've found a wicketkeeper who can bat in the top-5," Sanjay Bangar said on Doordarshan Sports.

Speaking about the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England away from home, Rishabh Pant ended as the fourth-leading run-scorer for India, amassing 4479 runs from four matches at an average of 68.43.

While Pant was ruled out of the fifth and final Test at The Oval, he played a gutsy knock in Manchester despite fracturing his toe. While he was on 37(54), he retired hurt after being hit on his toe by Chris Woakes' yorker-length delivery.

However, Pant surprised everyone when he returned to bat with a broken toe, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. He went on to add important runs and propelled India to 358 runs in the second innings, which was one of the reasons behind India managing a draw.

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