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He received the cap from Virat Kohli
Rishabh Pant was handed his first Test cap by Virat Kohli ahead of the third match against England. Pant was in the side as a cover to Dinesh Karthik and he got his chance in the third match after Karthik's reported finger injury. Even before the injury reports, there was speculation that the southpaw could make his debut, considering the performances of Karthik in the first two matches against England.
The young Delhi lad made his way into the side after scoring two impressive half-centuries for India A in an unofficial Test match against England Lions. In his first class career, he has scored 1744 runs at an average of 54.50, with a strike rate of 95.24.
In addition to the inclusion of Pant, Virat Kohli made two other changes to the playing XI. While Kuldeep Yadav made way for the returning Jasprit Bumrah, Murali Vijay was dropped for Shikhar Dhawan, who played the first Test match.
India's playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah
Just as the news of the youngster's debut made its way to Twitter, many people sent their best wishes to the young lad. Some even drew comparisons with Virat Kohli's debut which happened exactly 10 years ago.
A few even wanted him to emulate the great Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist as an aggressive left-handed batsman lower down the order. On the other hand, there were a few others who had their fair share of doubts about Pant's wicketkeeping skills. With a lot of expectations on the 20-year old, it will be interesting to see if he can live up to them.
Also read: 5 Indian batsmen who can make their Test debut against England
Here are the Twitter reactions to Pant's debut:
Also read: 4 young Indian wicketkeepers who can be used in away Test matches
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