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Syed Kirmani criticized Rishabh Pant’s temperament after India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in Chandigarh. The keeper-batsman, who is known for his aggressive mindset while batting, often attracts a lot of criticism due to his approach.
Former chairman of the national selection committee Syed Kirmani is also among those who have raised questions on Rishabh Pant’s batting instincts. Kirmani suggests that the southpaw bat wisely.
Rishabh Pant left his mark against Afghanistan
Rishabh Pant batted well against Afghanistan. He came to bat as the number 5 batsman and scored 81 runs in 121 balls. During this, he hit six fours and three fours. Pant helped the team score a mammoth score of 564 runs in the first innings, helping the home team register a massive win over the visitors by an innings and 300 runs.
Notably, throughout his career with the national cricket team, Rishabh Pant has hit more fours in Tests than in the other two formats. While the batsman hit 111 fours and 44 sixes in 66 T20I innings, he hit 378 fours and 96 sixes in 87 innings in Tests.
Pant is recognized as the X-factor of India’s Test team
Due to his unpredictable batting style, Rishabh Pant is still considered one of the X-factors and an exciting talent in the Indian Test cricket team. Last year, when India went to England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Pant played a key role.
There were some moments of brilliant performance by the middle-order batsman, but the way he lost most of the wickets in the format became the talking point. Even when the team needed him most in the middle, he did not hesitate to adopt the aerial route, giving the opposition a chance to avoid him.
Kirmani says that Rishabh Pant will have to work hard on his fitness, consistency and temperament. The former India keeper-batsman strongly criticized Pant’s temperament. According to the former selector, Rishabh Pant’s nature is weak and disturbed.
His nature is very weak and disturbed: Syed Kirmani
The 76-year-old mentioned that no one is born a hitter. The duty of a batsman is to act as the situation and match circumstances demand.
Kirmani told news agency PTI, “Rishabh has to work hard on his physical fitness, consistency and temperament. He has a very loose, volatile nature. No player can say, ‘I am a born hitter, I have to hit every ball. You can have that special day when you can get rid of every ball you want to hit. But you have to look at the conditions, what format you are playing and what the team wants you to do.’
Syed Kirmani said, “Rishabh will have to work hard on his physical fitness, consistency and temperament. His nature is very weak, restless. No player can say that ‘I am a born hitter, I have to hit every ball.’ May you have that special day when you will get rid of every ball… pic.twitter.com/dnI9KDTabv
-Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintivari952) June 11, 2026
Notably, ahead of the one-off Test, the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee took over the leadership role from Pant. He was the vice-captain in the format. Ahead of the Afghanistan series, the selectors appointed Pant as the only keeper-batsman and appointed KL Rahul as captain Shubman Gill’s deputy.