India’s former fielding coach, R Sridhar revealed that Rishabh Pant had opted to miss batting sessions just to improve on his wicketkeeping skills during India’s last tour of Australia. The tour is considered to be a turning point in Pant’s career as his batting exploits helped India bounce back and win the series. His knock at the Gabba is unforgettable for a lot of Indian fans. Things weren’t going smoothly for the 24-year-old southpaw at that time, as he had lost his place in the limited-overs to KL Rahul.
However, R Sridhar revealed how Pant worked very hard on his keeping during the tour. During a recent chat with cricket.com, as quoted by Hindustan Times, the former fielding coach said that the young wicket-keeper batter has improved a lot as a gloveman and the effort he put in during the Australian tour was mind-boggling. Sridhar revealed that Pant would miss batting sessions to work on his wicketkeeping skills.
ALSO READ: Jimmy Nesham Takes A Dig At Suryakumar Yadav At His 32nd Birthday
Talking about Pant, R Sridhar said, “He is come up leaps and bounds as a wicketkeeper. The way he has worked to improve his wicketkeeping… I was very fortunate to be a small part of his journey and to see him evolve as a wonderful wicketkeeper, especially in subcontinent conditions.”
He further explained, “His keeping abilities had always remained in question, especially against wicketkeepers on turning tracks. Covid came, he worked hard at home, he came into the IPL and he didn’t have a great IPL, he lost his place to KL Rahul as wicketkeeper. He would remember that as a defining moment of his career because that made him work harder. In adversity, he found out better of himself.”
ALSO READ: Sanju Samson Reveals He Has Neither In Competition With Rishabh Pant Nor KL Rahul
Talking about the wicket-keeping skills of Rishabh Pant, R Sridhar said, “He worked hard so hard on that Australian tour. It was mind-boggling. He sacrificed batting sessions to improve his wicketkeeping. I don’t see any modern-day cricketer doing that. He did that. He went drill after drill to improve his footwork, glove-work, reaction skills, hand-eye coordination skills. I can write a book about it. I can go on and on. He worked really hard.”
