Rishabh Pant has made it to India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy, starting February 19. There were doubts regarding his participation as a portion of the team management preferred Sanju Samson, while captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar believed in Pant’s capabilities and selected him. However, the keeper-batter isn’t certain in the playing XI as the middle order is currently stacked with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja.
Zaheer Khan, Pant’s mentor at Lucknow Super Giants nevertheless believes that the cricketer can be the X-factor for team India in the marquee competition. He noted that Pant’s presence will be an advantage to the Rohit Sharma-led side and added that the Haridwar-born is determined and optimistic about making an impact in the tournament.
“He's an X-factor player. So, when you are looking at having an X-factor player in your team, it's going to be an added advantage all the time. That's why the expectations are on him, and he's also determined. When you're looking at him and being part of the team, obviously he's there to make it count and have that impact,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
Zaheer compares Pant with Virender Sehwag
The 27-year-old is often compared with MS Dhoni for their batting style and more so because of his close association with the legendary cricketer. In the meantime, Zaheer agreed that Pant has a resemblance similar to Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist but eventually compared him with his former teammate Virender Sehwag.
“I would say Virender Sehwag. That is the right comparison, in terms of style and having that kind of impact at the international level. The names which you've mentioned also had a similar kind of approach. I think there is a resemblance,” he added.
Notably, LSG spent INR 27 crore to sign Pant in the IPL 2025 mega-auction. He became the costliest player in the history of the tournament and the franchise also named him the captain for the next season.