Rishabh Pant believes there’s one task tougher than batting against Jasprit Bumrah—keeping wicket to him. As Bumrah gears up to rejoin India’s XI for the third Test against England at Lord’s on Thursday, Pant shared how Bumrah’s rare skill set tests not just batters but also the wicketkeeper behind the stumps.
Bumrah, rested for India’s commanding 336-run victory at Edgbaston, is known for generating sharp pace from a short run-up and creating late movement that can confound opponents. At Lord’s, the ground’s pronounced eight-foot slope adds to the challenge, with the ball often swerving unpredictably after passing the bat.
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅,” 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅’𝒔.
Bumrah has collected 210 wickets in 46 Tests, boasting an astonishing average below 20—figures comparable to the best fast bowlers in history.
Team Combination Still Under Consideration
India have not yet confirmed their playing XI for the Lord’s Test, although captain Shubman Gill has stated that Bumrah will return, likely replacing Prasidh Krishna. At Edgbaston, India fielded three pacers—Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and Krishna—and supported them with spin all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
When asked if India would repeat that bowling combination, Pant explained:
“𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 (𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚). 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
Meanwhile, England have recalled pacer Jofra Archer to try to stem India’s momentum, after a series in which India have already registered seven centuries, with Gill contributing three of them.
Pant Reflects on Batting Mindset
Gill’s monumental scores of 269 and 161 in Birmingham powered India to their largest overseas Test win by runs. Pant also played a critical role, scoring a counterattacking 65 in the second innings that put the match out of England’s reach.
Earlier in the series, Pant created history by becoming only the second wicketkeeper to score hundreds in both innings of a Test, during India’s narrow loss at Headingley.
Reflecting on his approach to batting, Pant said:
“𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰’𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆.”
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