Rishabh Pant working with Kiran More to sharpen keeping skills
What's the story
Indian cricket team's young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was dropped from the playing XI in the ongoing Test series against South Africa. The team management instead went on to prefer veteran Wriddhiman Saha in the starting line-up. Pant has to improve both as a keeper and batsman. Therefore, he is working with former Indian keeper Kiran More to sharpen his skills.
Pant
Pant hasn't enjoyed the best of form in recent times
21-year-old Rishabh Pant scored just 4 and 19, in the two T20Is against South Africa which ended in 1-1. Prior to that, the youngster also failed to get runs on the board in the Test series against West Indies, besides the limited-overs series as well. Therefore, the team decided to give Saha his due and help Pant get groomed, who needs to work hard.
Keeping
Management feels Pant just needs to fine-tune his keeping skills
According to a report in IANS, the management feels Pant just needs to fine-tune his keeping skills. "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," a source revealed.
Quote
More helping out Pant isn't an official appointment
More confirmed working with Pant but said it isn't an official appointment from the BCCI. It is just the two working together. "We don't have a schedule, it is on and off and not official. We just share a good relation," he told IANS.
Thoughts
He is keeping really well, says More on Pant
More said he has seen a lot of improvement in Pant. "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. The basics are very important and he has been working on that," he said.
Work
We have worked on his balance and hand positioning: More
More has been working with Pant and trying to improve on his balance and hand positioning. "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," More added.
Information
This is a learning phase for Pant: Our take
This is a learning phase for Pant, who has a lot of time ahead of him in order to improve and show the level of consistency. At the moment, Saha is a perfect option to keep in Tests. Pant should be patient with himself.