"So what if you get dropped from the Indian team, you have the IPL" - Gavaskar on Pant's fearless style of batting in 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test 

Team India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant lit up the Adelaide Oval with his trademark unorthodox shots, executed fearlessly, on Day 2 of the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia. The shots behind the wicket certainly caught the opposition, fans, and pundits by surprise considering India's precarious position in the second innings.

Pant had walked out to the middle at 66-3 in the 15th over against a rampant Australian bowling unit with the pink ball under the lights. He showed no signs of nerves after coming down the track against Scott Boland to go over the off-side infield and notch a boundary off his first ball.

The wicketkeeper also executed a reverse ramp in the early stages of his innings. He fell on the ground after playing the stroke, watching the ball fly over the slip cordon. Dealing with boundaries even towards the end of the day's play, Pant ended up unbeaten on 28 runs off 25 deliveries, with India at 128-5 at Stumps on Day 3.

Gavaskar remarked that Pant can afford to play such audacious strokes because he has the cushion of a lucrative IPL contract, even if he falters for Team India. The wicketkeeper recently bagged a historic ₹27 crore deal with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during the 2025 IPL Auction, making him the highest-paid player in the league.

"Very entertaining, no question about it. But you mustn't forget, in the old days, there was no alternative to Test cricket; if you didn't play Test cricket, you went back to Ranji Trophy, you went back to club cricket, and that was it. When you have a cushion like the IPL, like the contract system, you can play this way. So what if you get dropped from the Indian team, you have the IPL," Gavaskar said in the post-match show on Star Sports (via Hindustan Times).

Rishabh Pant was recklessly dismissed for 1 in the first Test in Perth. He had tried to dance down the track and take down Nathan Lyon off just the fourth delivery at the crease. He completely missed the ball turning away from him, and was stumped by Alex Carey.

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"He can but he won't" - Sunil Gavaskar on Pant being the game changer for India on Day 3

India are tasked with a near-impossible task after losing five wickets in the final session on Day 2. Dealing with a mammoth first-innings deficit of 157 runs, India are still 29 runs behind, with nearly all of the specialist batters back in the hut. Rishabh Pant has Nitish Kumar Reddy for company to commence Day 3, with Ravichandran Ashwin and the rest of the lower order to follow.

Fellow broadcaster Mark Nicholas asked Gavaskar whether Pant could rescue India out of trouble, and turn the contest altogether, to which the legendary batter replied:

"He can but he won't."

India's slender series lead is in serious threat as Australia have been dominant in the pink ball Test from the word go.