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Lucknow Super Giants: India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will bring up his 50th Test appearance when the hosts face Afghanistan in a one‑off match starting in New Chandigarh on Saturday, with Devender Sharma, his childhood coach at Sonnet Club, calling the milestone ‘a very big deal,’ while adding that his recent IPL struggles do not necessarily define him in red-ball cricket.

Before Pant, only MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani are the only wicketkeeper-batters to have played more than 50 Tests for India. But the past few weeks have been a turbulent one for Pant, after making only 312 runs in 14 games for Lucknow Super Giants, who finished at the bottom of the IPL 2026 points table, he was let go of as the vice-captain of the Indian Test team and left out of the ODI team for the three-game series against Afghanistan.

“This is a very big milestone for him. To be on the verge of playing his 50th Test match as a wicketkeeper-batter for India is a very huge thing for Rishabh. One must remember that IPL is a white-ball tournament, while Test cricket is played with a red ball, which makes both formats different.   Read More...