"Even Ben Stokes is admiring when he's batting" - Michael Vaughan's massive statement on Team India star post ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former England captain Micheal Vaughan believes even skipper Ben Stokes was silently admiring Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's incredible batting in the first Test at Leeds. The 27-year-old scored brilliant centuries in both innings despite India's five-wicket defeat.

Pant became only the second designated wicketkeeper in history to score centuries in both innings of a Test after former Zimbabwean Andy Flower. With his first innings ton, the left-hander also became India's all-time leader in centuries among wicketkeepers, overtaking MS Dhoni.

Talking about Pant's batting on the Stick to Cricket show, Vaughan said (via Indian Express):

"There’s a lot of science in that madness the way that he plays. You can see even Ben Stokes is admiring when he’s batting. Adam Gilchrist for me is the best wicketkeeper-batter. But Pant just set a new trend. I mean MS Dhoni, across white ball cricket, was fantastic. You would think with the way that he plays, Pant would be completely suited to the white ball game and not so much the Test game, But his Test record is miles better than his white ball record."

Pant boasts an excellent Test record with 3,200 runs in 44 outings at an average of 44.44, including eight centuries. He was one of four centurions for the visitors in the Leeds Test. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were the others.

"That smile doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to win" - Alastair Cook on Team India's Rishabh Pant

Another former England captain, Alastair Cook, believes Rishabh Pant has high competitive drive despite often being jovial on the field with the bat and behind the stumps. The southpaw smashed an incredible nine maximums in the Leeds Test, including one to reach his century in the first innings.

Talking about Pant on the same show, Cook said:

"That smile doesn’t mean he doesn’t like (to win). Or that he’s not the most competitive (player). You don’t score two centuries and not really want to. He could have tossed (been casual in the second innings) and said I’ve scored a hundred in the first innings. But he didn’t." (via the aforementioned source).

Pant now has a remarkable four Test centuries in England and six in SENA countries, with one each in Australia and South Africa. Meanwhile, India will look to even up the five-match series at one apiece in the second Test at Edgbaston, starting July 2.