Rishabh Pant had a decent outing in the whites for Team India thus far, scoring centuries in England and Australia. However, his keeping has often come under the scanner with a substantial amount of byes given.
Pant had conceded 76 byes in six innings during India’s tour of England last year. There were concerns that the 21-year-old will face more difficulties keeping at home on spin-friendly decks and thus the Indian team management dropped him from the playing XI of first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam.
However, Pant hasn’t lost heart and has already started working on improving his keeping skills with former India stumper Kiran More.
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Speaking to IANS, sources in the team management said that Rishabh is very hardworking and there isn't anything to read into the move of picking Wriddhiman Saha over him.
"There isn't anything to read into the move and the team feels that Pant just needs to fine-tune his keeping skills a bit when it comes to Indian conditions in red-ball cricket and that is why he has been working with More on those aspects," the source revealed.
More also confirmed the same but added that it wasn't an official appointment from the BCCI.
"We don't have a schedule, it is on and off and not official. We just share a good relation," he told IANS.
More pointed out that Pant boasts an impressive record as a keeper and is currently working on his basics.
"He is keeping really well and I see a lot of improvement. He has got 53 dismissals in 11 Test matches and that is almost 5 dismissals per game. Every day you play, every day you grow. He has come up really well. The basics are very important and he has been working on that," he remarked.
Asked about the specific areas that More has worked on with Pant, he said: "We have worked on his balance and his hand positioning because he has a terrific cricketing mind and picks things up very quickly. We have worked on small finer details. Hand and body positioning is very important and it takes time. With experience you learn."
Kiran More also disagrees with the popular opinion that Pant's glovework is still a work in progress.
"He has been playing for India for the last one and a half years. Everybody has their perception, but for me, he is ready. You can go through my record after 11 games, he has a fantastic record," he said.
