How often do you see the best hitters in ODIs and T20s show their class in Test cricket as well? Well, we avid cricket fans are lucky that every decade has produced such kind of batsmen who have shown their various personalities in different forms of cricket.
From hitting the ball out of the ground to leaving the same ball, we have seen the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, and AB de Villiers all switching gears but in different styles in different formats of the game.
With India taking on the English side in a 5-match Test series, Cricwizz brings to you a comparison between two very underrated Test batsmen, two players who are the big guns when it comes to limited-overs cricket but are now finding feet in Cricket's most traditional format as well.
They have not just shown that they have the potential to play classic cover drives but they've elicited that they possess the temperament to bat against the swinging red ball too.
Rishabh Pant and Jonny Bairstow are two batsmen of the modern era, who have weight behind their name when it comes to T20s and ODIs but have recently stepped up in Test cricket as well.
The comparison is not to claim who is better but because of the kind of roles, both these batsmen play in their national side. Pant has already shaken off his competition for the test spot as India's wicket-keeper, mostly because of his fearless approach and his ability to adapt to any situation in his way.
Meanwhile, Bairstow has proven that he won't miss an opportunity that comes his way. Bairstow can open, play at no.4, or even below and bat with the same consistency and temperament. He is another batsman who isn't afraid of expressing himself and has often proved that he has all the qualities you'd expect in a Test batsman.
Let's have a look at their form in some recent series they've been a part of.
Rishabh Pant
** Note: DNB stands for Did not bat.
Pant vs England (In England)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/Second Innings) |
| First Test | 25, DNB |
| Second Test | 37, 22 |
Pant in World Test Championship
| Test | Runs (First innings/Second innings) |
| Final WTC | 4, 41 |
Pant vs England (In India)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/Second Innings) |
| First Test | 91, 11 |
| Second Test | 58, 8 |
| Third Test | 1, DNB |
| Fourth Test | 101, DNB |
Pant vs Australia (In Australia)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/Second Innings) |
| First Test | Did not play |
| Second Test | 29, DNB |
| Third Test | 36. 97 |
| Fourth Test | 23, 89 |
The Australia tour was the one where all doubts regarding Pant's future in the Indian test squad vanished. Pant was instrumental in saving the third Test for India, while it was him who single-handedly got India through the line in the final Test at Australia's fortress, The Gabba.
Pant vs New Zealand (In New Zealand)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/Second Innings) |
| First Test | 19, 25 |
| Second Test | 12, 4 |
Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow vs India (In England)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/ Second Innings) |
| First Test | 29, 30 |
| Second Test | 57, 2 |
** Jonny Bairstow was not a part of the Test series against New Zealand
Jonny Bairstow vs India (In India)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/ Second Innings) |
| Third Test | 0, 0 |
| Fourth Test | 28,0 |
Jonny Bairstow did not feature in the first two Tests against India.
Jonny Bairstow vs Sri Lanka (In Sri Lanka)
| Test | Runs (First Innings/ Second Innings) |
| First Test | 47, 35 |
| Second Test | 28, 29 |
Unfortunately, for Bairstow, the chances have been limited due to England's top performances against the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, etc.
The reasons being top batting performances from Zak Crawley, Daniel Lawrence, and Ollie Pope made it impossible for Bairstow, who is so versatile, to be roped in. Jos Buttler's position was also not under threat as he kept batting at a decent rate and was lucky on a few occasions as well.
Let's have a look at Rishabh Pant's and Jonny Bairstow's limited-overs records.
ODI stats
| Player | Matches/Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s/50s | Highest Score |
| Rishabh Pant | 18/529 | 33.06 | 114.25 | 0/3 | 78 |
| Jonny Bairstow | 89/3498 | 47.92 | 105.01 | 11/14 | 141 |
T20I stats
| Player | Matches/Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s/50s | Highest Score |
| Rishabh Pant | 32/512 | 21.33 | 123.37 | 0/2 | 65 |
| Jonny Bairstow | 57/1143 | 27.88 | 137.05 | 0/7 | 86 |
It must be evident how big and underrated Bairstow is. His numbers in limited-overs are far more superior than Pant, who is still very young and isn't even near to Bairstow when it comes to Matches played.
That being said, Rishabh Pant's recent Test form may give him an edge at this moment but Jonny Bairstow has 4315 Test Runs in 76 Test matches, while Pant has 1487 Runs in 23 Tests.
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