'He should be given a chance in white-ball cricket too...': Kiran More on Rishabh Pant

Kiran More. Pic/Ashish Raje

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Kiran More has lavished praise on current Test 'keeper-batter Rishabh Pant after the latter became the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket. Pant (69-ball 66, 8x4, 2x6) reached the milestone when he pulled Sri Lanka pacer Lahiru Kumara over fine-leg on Day Four of the ongoing Galle Test on Tuesday.

Pant, 28, needed just 89 innings to achieve the feat. Australia's Adam Gilchrist, the first batter to hit 100 sixes in Tests, took 130 innings. New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and England's Ben Stokes took 170 and 151 innings respectively. "I'm very happy to know that Rishabh has smashed 100 sixes in Test cricket. It's a tremendous feat and I'm sure he will surpass Stokes [138 sixes] and McCullum [107 sixes] soon. Rishabh has faced fewer balls [4918] compared to them," More told mid-day on Tuesday.

More, a former national chief selector, reckoned that Pant is special and must feature in the white-ball team. "Rishabh is a special cricketer and a match-winner, who can win games on his own. I don't know why there's so much confusion about his selection. The selectors have unnecessarily kept him out of the 50-over and T20 teams. He should be given a chance in white-ball cricket too," More added.