"Rishabh Pant Sacrificed Batting Sessions To Improve His Wicketkeeping During Australia Tour": R Sridhar

Rishabh Pant may not be that much force to reckon with in T20I Cricket, but the batter has made a big name for himself in Test Cricket. The 24-year-old left-handed batter’s Gabba knock in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy was one of the best where he just whacked Australian bowlers all around the park.

The batter understands Test cricket whereas his counter-attacking approach yields the results for the team.

Rishabh Pant has shown that an aggressive mindset can also be fruitful in Test Arena. The batter is quite comfortable while playing with fire due to which the opposition team is always watchful and scared too. It would be interesting to see how long this approach works as Rishabh has been around the team since 2018 and till now he has looked unstoppable.

R Sridhar on Rishabh Pant

R Sridhar, the former fielding coach was seen interacting with cricket.com and was asked about Rishabh Pant.

“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 said.

“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,” he added.

“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, and hand-eye coordination skills. I can write a book about it. I can go on and on. He worked really hard,” said Sridhar.

Rishabh Pant a Dangerous Test Batter

In the recently concluded England Test series, the batter wasn’t afraid to take down Anderson and Broad. The batter also knows to play the waiting game which is invaluable. Head Coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma would be looking to promote him up the order for some quick runs.

A billion people would be hoping that the batter continues his good work. The selection committee should be cautious with him as giving him ample rest is must if they want him to be effective in whites for a long period of time. Rishabh Pant would be aware that the opposition team would come well prepared and he needs to have a backup plan ready.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Rishabh Pant’s Strength Is Too Many Shots But That’s Also The Reason For His Downfall – Former Pakistan Skipper