Former Indian cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has spoken about his first sighting of the star wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant during the net session, when he was new to the Indian dressing room. Bangar was then India's batting coach at that point in time, and he easily sensed the fearlessness and the attitude that Pant brought along with him, whether in the nets or on the 22-yards. 

 

Pant has been appointed vice-captain of the Indian Test side based on consistent showings in the red-ball configuration. Bangar feels that this kind of mindset is already programmed within Pant's mind as he boards the field, which has brought him early success at the top level. The Beed-native also mentioned listening about Pant through Delhi's Ashish Nehra. 

 

Here is what Bangar told via Doordarshan Sports:

 

"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," 

 

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Talking more of Pant, the Haridwar-born is still recovering from a toe fracture that he unfortunately sustained during the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, when he was batting in the first innings of the match at the Old Trafford, Manchester.

 

He was then excluded from the fifth Test, but had a fantastic series otherwise, making 479 runs in only seven innings, which also boasts of three courageous centuries against the Englishmen. 

 

The next red-ball assignment for the Indian team is in the home series against the West Indies. The series will get underway on October 2 with the first game scheduled to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Indian team supporters will be expecting Pant's return to fitness before the crucial two-match series.