Syed Kirmani urges Rishabh Pant to improve temperament after IND vs AFG

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Syed Kirmani has urged Rishabh Pant to improve his temperament after India won by an innings and 300 runs against Afghanistan at New Chandigarh on Monday. Pant played an impressive knock in the first innings of the one-Test against the visitors but was dismissed while trying to play a big shot. The left-hander scored 81 runs off 121 deliveries with the help of six fours and three sixes.

This was a crucial knock for Pant as he was coming after a mundane performance in IPL 2026. The left-hander could only manage 312 runs in 13 innings of the season at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05. Subsequently, he resigned from his captaincy position with LSG.

Kirmani, the 1983 World Cup-winning player, said Pant should improve his temperament, consistently and physical fitness.

“Rishabh has to work hard on his physical fitness, consistency and temperament,” Kirmani told news agency PTI. “His temperament is very vulnerable, turbulent. No player can say ‘I am a born hitter, I have to hit every ball’. You might have that particular day when you get rid of every ball you want to hit. But you have to look into the circumstances, what format you are playing, and what the team wants you to do.”

“Wherever Rishabh Pant is selected, he has to show his physical fitness, he has to show his performance. He has to show his consistency is better than the other wicketkeepers competing with him. That’s it,” he added.

Kirmani expressed his surprise that Pant hasn’t been able to nail down the white-ball formats despite having all the talent in the world.

“When Rishabh Pant broke into the Indian side, I thought he was the most talented or gifted after Sachin Tendulkar. And I considered him the most talented until this new boy (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) emerged. But now when I see him playing only Tests, I am quite baffled,” the former wicketkeeper-batter said.

Pant will be next seen in action in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.