Legendary India wicketkeeper-batter Farokh Engineer was all praises for young Rishabh Pant after he equaled his 49-year-old record of hitting a century and a fifty in the same Test match, a feat Pant achieved in the ongoing fifth Test match against England at Edgbaston.
The left-handed attacking batter, who scored a record-breaking 146 in the first innings of the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham, backed that up with another vital 57-run knock in the second innings on Day 4.
Engineer was the first Indian keeper-batter to make a century and a fifty in the same Test, back in 1973 against England at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai. The former stylish keeper-batter, who played 46 Test and 5 ODIs for India, said Pant has now matured as a cricketer as he does not throw his wicket away that easily.
“I am delighted for Rishabh. He is a fantastic cricketer. I thought maybe MS Dhoni would have done it, but I am surprised that it took so long for an Indian wicketkeeper to equal that record.
I have always thought of Rishabh as a fabulous batter, and a fabulous young man, even though I have met him only once. He has got the measure and responsibility because earlier, he would throw away his wicket so many times. I used to tell myself, 'He is so talented, why doesn't he just play the right shot?' He has got such good eyes and is such a good entertainer,” Engineer told Sportstar.
Engineer, who is settled in England, said he will be at the first two ODIs at the Oval and the Lord's and will give Pant a hug when he meets him.
“I will be there at the ground for the first two ODIs at The Oval and Lord’s later this month and when I see Pant, I will give him a big hug and say, ‘Keep it up! Next time, I want you to score a hundred in each innings’. The way he is going about his business, I am glad that he has been given more responsibility and he certainly is taking his game very seriously,” Engineer said.
The 84-year-old was also impressed with Pant’s glovework and said that the 24-year-old has worked hard on his keeping and overall is an asset to India.
“He is such a fine young man and I must say, he has improved a lot in his wicketkeeping as well. Dhoni wasn’t a great wicketkeeper when he started, but look at the way he improved. Similarly, Rishabh is working on his wicketkeeping very hard and I can see that. But as a package, just like Dhoni, Rishabh is a tremendous asset for India, who can score a hundred like that against a good bowling unit,” Engineer said.
