Wasim Akram lauds Rishabh Pant's mental strength following Test return

Rishabh Pant is arguably on his way to becoming one of India's greatest wicketkeeper-batters, and his century in the first Test against Bangladesh further strengthened his case. However, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has lauded Pant's mental strength for his recovery from his horrific accident in December 2022.

"Look at Pant's performance, the miracle that he has performed by showing he is superhuman by returning from his tragedy," said Akram on Sportskeeda. 

"The way his accident happened, we were all worried in Pakistan, I was worried and tweeted about him."

Akram was also appreciative of Pant's approach to Test cricket and his audacious strike play, especially against James Anderson and Pat Cummins, whom he has dared to reverse sweep. "The way he used to play in Test cricket, the way he performed in Australia with the century then," said Akram. 

"The way he batted against England, playing a reverse sweep against [James] Anderson in Test cricket, even [Pat] Cummins. He's special. "Especially what he has been through in that horrific accident, coming back from that, how mentally strong that boy must be."

"Akram, who has over 900 international wickets, feels the way Pant has bounced back, will inspire many others to come back from any situation," Akram said.

"That's a story to be told for generations and generations, in my opinion, to motivate young people of the world. You can come back the way Pant did. He came back and averaged 40 in the IPL, 446 runs at a strike rate of 155, he's a miracle kid."

Pant will be back in action when India take on Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur, starting September 27 (Friday). India lead the two-match series 1-0, following a 280-run in the first Test in Chennai.

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