Legendary Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy feels India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is a work in progress. Notably, Pant made his long awaited Test comeback in September earlier this year after surviving a near-fatal car crash on December 30, 2022. Following his accident, it was believed that Pant wouldn’t be able to do wicketkeeping again.
However, the India star has proved his naysayers wrong as he’s returned to be his acrobatic best behind the stumps. Recently, Healy shared his opinion on Pant’s wicketkeeping skills and said that the 27-year-old still has a lot to work on. The Australian legend pointed out a glaring error in his technique as the India player makes the wrong initial movement which leads to drop catches.
“Rishabh Pant is a work in progress, but I saw him in the mornings and like the drills he is doing; he is bound to improve more. At times, as he did when he dropped a catch in this series earlier, he can make an initial wrong movement. Some keepers like to move a touch to their left first and then press from there. It’s better to be still and if you can’t, then you start that trigger movement a touch early so that by the time the ball is out there, you can still press to the right side. One of those two decisions have to be made,” Healy told the Indian Express.
Pant’s low returns with the bat in the series so far
Apart from taking some sensational grabs with the gloves, Pant has also dropped a few chances in the ongoing series as he dropped Nathan McSweeney late on Day 1 of the second Test in Adelaide. Despite that, the India wicketkeeper has done a fine job with the gloves having taken 19 catches in three matches.
However, Pant hasn’t been able to replicate his performances with the bat having scored just 96 runs from three matches (five innings) at an average of 19.20 with a highest score of 37. As India travel to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the fourth Test, they will desperately need Pant to fire with the bat as they look to take a lead in the series which is tied at 1-1.
