Rishabh Pant has to improve his throwing and outfielding, feels India’s fielding coach R Sridhar

After Vijay Shankar developed a toe niggle before the game against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham, Rishabh Pant had the privilege of making his debut in the 2019 World Cup. The southpaw scored a 29-ball 39 and also took a decent catch at the deep point region to get rid of Jonny Bairstow, who scored a century. Pant didn’t flatter to deceive even against Bangladesh at the same venue.

The left-hander notched 48 off 41 with six fours and an over-boundary, though he was unfortunate to miss out on his maiden ODI half-century. In the meantime, the Indian team management is a bit concerned over the Young Turk’s ground-fielding. R Sridhar, India’s fielding coach, said that the Uttarakhand-born Pant needs to be a bit more ‘athletic’ and put his focus on outfielding.

We have to use Pant in appropriate positions

“A lot of work has to go into him (Pant). First of all, he needs to improve his technique in throwing and also needs to be a little more athletic to be an outfielder,” Sridhar was quoted as saying at the mixed zone after India’s 28-run victory versus the Tigers.

Praising Pant’s contributions versus the Brits, Sridhar mentioned: “We have to use him inappropriate (fielding) positions, that is what Virat and MS are keen on. Keep him at the right places at the right time. In the last game (vs England), he saved at least five runs which is a huge bonus. He took a catch as well.”

Moreover, Sridhar hailed Dinesh Karthik as an effective outfielder. Karthik took a couple of good catches to get rid of the dangerous Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das. Adding more about Pant, Sridhar said the youngster needs to have game-awareness in order to sharpen his fielding skills.

“Obviously, Dinesh despite being a wicketkeeper is a good outfielder. He pulls off some good saves at backward point. Rishabh is developing and he needs to do this a bit more to develop the awareness, to get a hang of it. That’s why we harp about getting fielders in same positions so that they get an idea,” the fielding coach remarked.