But how things have changed. We are in June, with the same Rishabh Pant. The same Sunil Gavaskar. The only difference is the mood. Pant hammered his 7th Test century on Day 2 of the first India vs England Test at Headingley, Leeds, and when he struck a six to reach the three-figure mark, Gavaskar was on the mic again. Only this time, he used a new word, also starting with ‘S’. “Superb. Superb. Superb,” he said with a beaming smile on his face.

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And rightly so. Having struggled in Australia and almost the entire IPL, Pant has roared back to form, scoring centuries in back-to-back matches. He concluded the IPL with a knock of 118 for Lucknow Super Giants against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and followed it with 134 against England here. Pant, when informed that Gavaskar’s criticism was replaced by praise, was clearly excited and could not hide it from his former India teammate Cheteshwar Pujara.

What Rishabh Pant said

“Feeling toh wohi hai jo aapko hai. (I have the same feelings as you),” he told India’s former No. 3. “It feels really good that I have been able to work on my shortcomings. And convert your setbacks into comebacks. That was always my thought process. I felt that I wasn’t up to the mark on a certain aspect but luckily I was able to change it. By working hard, focussing well and adding a layer of discipline to my game. So that’s been exciting for me.”