Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant etched his name in the history books by scoring centuries in both innings of the opening Test against England at Headingley, Leeds. Pant achieved this milestone soon after ending his poor IPL 2025 form with a blistering 118* off 61 balls against RCB in LSG’s final league match.
Despite ending up on the losing side in both matches, across two different formats, Pant’s resurgence is a positive sign for both himself and Indian cricket. It also stands as a testament to the dedication and effort he has invested behind the scenes during his recovery and comeback.
Rishabh Pant made major lifestyle changes in March, including uninstalling WhatsApp and keeping his phone off to focus fully on cricket, as per The Times of India. Former India trainer Sohum Desai revealed that Pant also underwent intense training during his Champions Trophy absence to maintain peak fitness.
“He did the most intense sessions, day in and day out. He dragged me into the gym whenever he was free. He didn’t care about fatigue or workload programmes. All he said was he needed to keep working on himself. On the day of the final, he came to me with some kind of guilt in his mind and asked if he could take the day off. I said it was high time that he did.”
“Pant has so much in reserve that he will be fine for at least a year without having to do anything extraordinary. That’s why you see him moving around so well despite scoring two hundreds and keeping wickets for so long in the Headingley Test,” Desai went on to add.
Pant’s Test Performances Highlight His Vital Role In Indian Cricket
Although Rishabh Pant hasn’t consistently capitalized on his chances in limited-overs cricket for India, he continues to be an integral part of the Test side. The left-hander has featured in 44 Test matches, amassing 3,200 runs at an impressive average of 44.44 and a striking rate of 74.03. His record includes eight centuries and 15 fifties.
Pant also holds the distinction of scoring the most Test hundreds (8) by an Indian wicketkeeper, overtaking MS Dhoni’s tally of six. He is only the second wicketkeeper-batter in the history of Test cricket to register centuries in both innings of a single match, a feat first accomplished by Zimbabwean great Andy Flower.
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