The young Indian wicket-keeper, Rishabh Pant has faced a lot of criticism for his poor wicket-keeping skills during India’s recent outings. The expectations are not always high every time Pant takes the field because he is yet to earn a name for himself as a viable keeper-batsman. However, he is on the learning curve and the Indian team management always backs him.
Pant has silenced the critics by scoring his maiden half-century in ODIs, which came against West Indies in the first ODI at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. He was the highest run-getter in the match when he amassed 71 off 69 which included 7 fours and a six. But his terrible form behind the wickets once again is haunting him like hell. He came under fire when he dropped four costly catches in the third ODI against West Indies at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.
Meanwhile, India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad reckons Pant’s poor form with the bat could have had a severe effect on his wicketkeeping traits. Rishabh was sidelined from India’s three-match Test series against South Africa at home last month as selectors preferred Wirddhiman Saha.
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Talking to Hindustan Times about Pant, Prasad said, “If you don’t keep well, it affects your batting. And if you don’t get runs, it affects your keeping. Whenever you are under pressure, you stiffen up. Your arms, shoulders, biceps, forearms – everything stiffens up. That’s when the ball starts popping out because of hard hands. When you are in a relaxed state of mind, the way you receive that ball is different from the way you collect when you are under pressure.”
Despite the fact that Pant has failed to press the case in the longest format, MSK Prasad still believes that Pant will come back stronger than ever before. The chief selector further elaborated, “See, he is young and is still a work-in-progress. But there is a lot of time ahead for him. Since he got on the Indian side at a young age, he hasn’t played much domestic cricket. That is also one of the reasons. I am sure he will come back strong. It’s also good that this has happened early in his career.”
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Quite interestingly, Rishabh Pant has scored Test centuries in Australia and England and Prasad chipped in with some words of wisdom for the young prospect. According to Prasad, Pant should give himself more time in the middle in a bid to go about his business.
