Former India cricketer turned commentator Parthiv Patel commented on star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant amid the home series against the West Indies. Pant is not part of the white-ball team at the moment, and he was seen playing in the Irani Cup as well. Parthiv Patel was surprised by Pant being unable to play well in white-ball cricket.
“I am very surprised looking at Pant’s white-ball numbers. He has not been able to perform as per his ability in ODIs, T20Is, or in the IPL. That is something which I find like a puzzle. I would like to solve it if given an opportunity. In Test cricket, Pant is as important as Bumrah or Kohli the captain. He has won a lot of games. The way he plays, there will always be criticism. But the success ratio is very high. This is why he is that X factor. You cannot tell him to be more responsible,” he said in a podcast with former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra.
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“I think his wicket-keeping skills are not appreciated enough. He will not appear to you as technical as Wriddhiman Saha. But he drops very few catches. He has that consistency even on difficult pitches. If you criticise him when he gets out, you have no right to praise him when he steps out and smashes sixes. As a complete package, he is definitely India’s best as a wicket-keeper batter,” he again shared.
However, Parthiv Patel also opined on the areas Rishabh Pant needs to improve to do well in ODIs. He said that the power game alone would not work in this format and that Rishabh Pant also needs to learn to build and pace an innings as well.
“I feel you need a tempo in one-day cricket. It’s not only about hitting fours or sixes. You need the ability to take singles and also the will to do it. You need both, the way Kohli and Gill bat. That is where he needs to find the tempo. When you are the second keeper, you are almost invisible and then when someone has a breakthrough domestic season, as Ishan Kishan did, you are replaced. I know how it is for a second wicket-keeper,” Parthiv Patel concluded.
