This is why De Villiers was surprised at Pant’s selectionImage Credit source: PTI
There is a lot of discussion about the new player Saransh Jain in the Indian team selected for the Test series on Sri Lanka tour. The sudden entry of Saransh, who was selected in the team for the first time, has surprised everyone. But while Indian cricket experts and fans are debating on this selection, South African batsman AB de Villiers has given birth to a new debate by expressing surprise over the selection of Rishabh Pant. Referring to the recent IPL season, De Villiers asked whether Pant has the hunger for runs at this time or not?
‘Pant’s confidence and energy was low’
De Villiers posted a video on his YouTube channel ‘360 Degree’, in which he was selected for the Sri Lanka tour. Indian team Were analyzing. During this, he expressed his views on the selection of Rishabh Pant. Former South African captain De Villiers, who himself has been a wicketkeeper, believes that Pant’s fitness and his confidence were quite low during the IPL and hence he is a bit surprised.
De Villiers said, “Rishabh Pant has been selected, which is a bit surprising in my opinion. We have to see how his fitness is and how much hunger he has to perform because during the IPL he seemed to be lacking confidence and energy.”
🚨AB de Villiers surprised Pants Sri Lanka Test selection.🚨
“Rishabh Pant is included, which, in my opinion, is a bit of a surprise. Well have to see what his fitness is like and his appetite to perform because he looked slightly low on confidence and energy during the IPL.” pic.twitter.com/2GPC6OAwnA
— Indian Cricket 🏏 (@navshar54008403) July 29, 2026
Still ABD trusts Pant
However, De Villiers also said that Pant can give his best when playing for Team India and he also wants to see the same. The veteran batsman said, “Now that he is going to represent his country, I think this will bring out his best performance. I am a big fan of his but I would like to see him play with full aggression.”
It is true that the IPL 2026 season was also not good for Pant. As the captain of Lucknow Super Giants, he could neither lead the team well nor perform with the bat. This is why after the end of the season, Lucknow traded him back to Delhi Capitals. However, as De Villiers said that he can do well for Team India, Pant also proved it when he played an inning of 81 runs in the Test match against Afghanistan immediately after the IPL.
