India vs Windies: Rishabh Pant honing his glovework under Kiran More's guidance ahead of the Test series

The Indian cricket team has always had problems with finding a reliable man behind the stumps until MS Dhoni’s arrival. After the former skipper retired from Tests, Wriddhiman Saha took over and never made the fans miss the veteran’s presence on the field. However, with Saha injured, Team India was forced to fall back onto the Dinesh Karthik in the England tour who didn’t prove to be satisfactory and hence Rishabh Pant was roped in.

He is quite an exciting prospect with the bat and often takes the bowlers to the cleaners. But, his wicketkeeping was never regarded as high and it was evident why when he played in England. In six innings, the Delhi batsman has conceded as many as 76 byes (though many of them came due to the bowlers’ fault) which played a role in the team’s downfall. He also dropped a couple of catches which could’ve gone either way in the context of the match.

The turning tracks challenge awaits for the youngster

However, with his performances with the bat, the 20-year-old has sealed a place for himself in the side. He is currently working on his keeping aspects as well. It will not be easy donning the gloves on the turning tracks in India. Hence, Rishabh Pant, in an attempt to prove his critics wrong, is working hard honing his skills with the gloves at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

The BCCI is doing all it could do to turn the youngster into a vital cog in the Indian lineup keeping the future in mind. Pant was spotted practising hard on turning tracks with rough patches on it. On the request of head coach Ravi Shastri, former keeper Kiran More is looking after the 20-year-old’s progress.

Kiran More played 49 Tests and 94 ODIs for India. He was known for his lightning work behind the stumps and was also Ravi Shastri’s teammate. Pant was with More for three days and the left-hander worked on small technical aspects like balance, head-position and movement on the leg-side.

“More has been doing a lot of work with the NCA for the last three years, particularly with India’s Under-16, 19 and 23 keepers. So the BCCI has a fair idea of what he can offer. But this is the first time that he’s been directly asked to help the Indian keeper. It’s a specialized skill that he teaches. He has worked on Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan too in the past,” said the Board insider according to the Times of India.

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