India Star Reveals How Rishabh Pant Encouraged Bowlers to Attack, Validating Ashish Nehra’s Early Assessment

A former India batting coach shared Ashish Nehra’s early assessment of Rishabh Pant when he had just begun his IPL career.

Rishabh Pant: Modern Cricket’s Explosive Entertainer

Rishabh Pant is widely regarded as one of the most entertaining batters in contemporary cricket. The 27-year-old is known for his aggressive style against both pacers and spinners, often charging down the track to dispatch deliveries for boundaries—a sight regularly witnessed in international matches and the IPL.

Since his IPL debut in 2016, Rishabh Pant has been recognized as an exciting talent and has consistently delivered match-winning performances, living up to the high expectations.

Sanjay Bangar reveals ‘Ashish Nehra’s assessment’

Speaking to Doordarshan Sports, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar shared an interesting insight from a conversation with former India and Delhi cricketer Ashish Nehra, who foresaw Pant’s promising future. Bangar revealed that Nehra believed Pant would “progress very quickly” and described him as a “naturally gifted batter.”

Nehra also highlighted Pant’s fearless approach, noting that even in the nets, he would challenge bowlers to bowl quickly and attack his body—an uncommon mindset for a young player during his early IPL days.

“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,” Bangar said.

Following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Test cricket, Pant was named vice-captain in red-ball cricket for India. He also leads Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and became the most expensive player in IPL history when LSG purchased him for ₹27 crore in the 2025 auction. Pant was part of the Indian team that won the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.

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