Rishabh Pant was told to lose a bit of weight and work hard on his keeping: Ravi Shastri

India’s young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant delivered a magnificent performance against England in the last Test of the just-concluded four-match series as India scripted a memorable victory by an innings and 25 runs. With his sublime knock of 101 runs, Pant was the wrecker-in-chief for India as they forced their way into the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand at the Lord’s. 

Rishabh’s journey in the cricket fraternity has been nothing less than a roller-coaster ride as the youngster has often been placed under scrutiny for his below-average performance. Pant has also been constantly subjected to comparisons with the former Indian captain MS Dhoni. Speaking about the wicketkeeper, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri revealed that the team-management was harsh on Pant as before the Australia tour they subtly told him to respect the game and focus on his skillset and fitness.

Shastri talked about how Pant was asked to focus on his fitness and work on his keeping skills to sustain at the highest level. “Rishabh Pant has been simply magnificent. We were hard on him. Nothing comes easy. He was told in no uncertain terms that he has got to respect the game a little more. He’s got to lose a bit of weight and work hard on his keeping,” said Ravi Shastri in the post-series presentation.

It’s a great feeling to win the series: Ravi Shastri

“We know the talent he has and he has responded. He has worked like hell for the last few months and the results are here to see. Yesterday’s innings were the best counterattacking innings I have seen in India. It was a two-phase inning. He built a partnership with Rohit playing against his nature – to do that is not easy – and to turn it on after 50. Keeping has been magnificent and Washi was outstanding too,” he added.

Apart from Rishabh, Washington Sundar also deserves credit for India’s success in the last Test as the spin all-rounder played a very crucial knock of 96 runs along with scripting a game-changing 113-run partnership with Pant for the seventh wicket. Commenting on the same, Shastri reckoned that it’s good to see youngsters rising through the ranks.

“It’s a great feeling to win the series. It’s satisfying to see the youngsters perform in tough situations. The way Pant and Washi played… the pressure was on us but from there to get to 360 was incredible,” said Shastri.