On Thursday, the veteran wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel advised the young gloveman, Rishabh Pant to ignore criticism and focus on his game, saying dealing with this constant pressure can help him emerge as a better batsman. Seen as a successor of MS Dhoni, the young southpaw has been receiving flak for his failure to perform consistently at the top level.

Pant has often been criticized for his wicket-keeping skills in the recently-concluded series against Bangladesh and the West Indies.

Talking about the youngster, Patel said, “It’s about keeping yourself away from opinions and focus on your game. If you play for India, there would be pressure. Every player has got the pressure of different situations. Your skills get honed in such pressure situations. In the T20 series (against WI) he did well. You see he’s having a fun time at the ground as well. He can become a good player when he comes out of such pressure situations,” said the Gujarat skipper on the eve of their Ranji Trophy match against Bengal here.

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On Pant’s wicket-keeping technique, Parthiv said that a player needs to have something in him to play for India and a youngster like Pant gains confidence with every passing match. Having made his Test debut at 17, the youngest to don the wicketkeeping gloves, Patel has seen it all — the rise of Dhoni and the unflinching support of the team management for Pant.

Parthiv further explained, “Opinions should not matter when you know that the team management and selectors back you. It’s about enjoying the moment and express yourself. It’s just because he’s doing well there’s so much talk about him. He has done well in the last series. He has got the talent and the team is providing him that confidence to do much better.”

However, when the conversation veered towards India’s best wicketkeeper in the longest format, Patel made it clear it’s none other than the Bengal pro-Wriddhiman Saha.

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Talking about the same, Parthiv said, “There’s no doubt about that. The way he takes catches and brings the energy on the field, there’s no doubt that he’s the No 1 wicketkeeper in the world. The way he goes about his business. He’s probably world’s best wicketkeeper. He knows what’s good for him.”