Rishabh Pant Can Give You Heartbreaks And Moments That Can Take Your Breath Away In Equal Measure: R Sridhar

Team India fielding coach has given an honest assessment of dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, stating that the 23-year-old is an extremely exciting package besides being one of the most fearless cricketers of the modern-era era.

Speaking on the Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’, R Sridhar decoded the madness of Rishabh Pant, claiming that the southpaw has the ability to disappoint you or take your breath away in equal proportion.

Rishabh Pant did take everyone’s breath away and registered his name in the pantheons of Indian cricket thanks to his back-to-back swashbuckling 4th innings knocks in the recently concluded Test series against Australia.

While his counterattacking 118-ball 97 helped India save the Test at the SCG, his col and collected and brilliantly composed 89* in the fourth innings at the Gabba paved way for the visitors to script their third-highest run-chase in history and in the process breach the ‘Gabbatoir’

With 274 runs in three Tests at an average of 68.50, Rishabh Pant finished as India’s top-scorer.

“What you see is what you get with Rishabh. He can give you heart attacks; he can give you heart aches; he can give heartbreaks, but he can also give you moments that take your breath away,” R Sridhar said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.

“He is a great package, probably one of the most explosive cricketers and one of the most fearless cricketers going around. Plus, he is a left-hander, so that adds a lot of variation in the middle order. So, all in all, Rishabh Pant as a package is extremely exciting,” he added.

That said, Rishabh Pant’s wicketkeeping skills, especially against the spinners, was once again exposed to the hilt during the Test series with the southpaw shelling numerous crucial catches.

R Sridhar admitted that Pant- the wicketkeeper- is still very much a work in progress but added that the 23-year-old is working very hard to improve his skills against the turning ball.

“There have been occasions on this tour where he sacrificed his batting to work an extra half an hour or one hour on his wicketkeeping. So, that’s great news for everybody who wants to know. He is a work in progress.” he added.

Also Read: Rishabh Pant Plays In A Certain Fashion And You Don’t Want To Disturb That: Ajinkya Rahane