Rishabh Pant sacrificed his batting to work on his wicketkeeping: R Sridhar

Team India fielding coach R Sridhar has disclosed that Rishabh Pant has been putting in the extra yards to improve his glovework.

Rishabh Pant drew a lot of plaudits for his match-defining knocks in the fourth innings of the Sydney and Brisbane Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But on the flip side, he also earned a few brickbats for his shortcomings as a wicketkeeper.

In an episode of the Star Sports show Cricket Connected, Sridhar shared his views on Rishabh Pant being the next big thing in Indian cricket. Talking about his keeping, the fielding coach highlighted the efforts the 23-year old has put in to improve his wicketkeeping.

"There have been occasions on this tour where he sacrificed his batting to work an extra half an hour or one hour on his wicketkeeping. So,that's great news for everybody who wants to know. So he is a work in progress," said Sridhar.

At times we are harsh on Rishabh Pant skills in keeping, Wicket keeping is all about confidence. The batting ability of Rishabh Pant will help him in keeping to grow the confidence Same as Ms Dhoni in early days of his career. - Saba Karim

— CricketMAN2 (@man4_cricket) February 1, 2021

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"Rishabh Pant is a great package" - R Sridhar

Rishabh Pant's ability to destroy opposition attacks gives him the edge over other wicketkeepers.

Regarding Rishabh Pant's batting, R Sridhar observed that the swashbuckling left-hander lives or dies by the sword, saying in this regard:

"What you see is what you get with Rishabh. He can give you heart attacks; he can give you heart aches; he can give you heart breaks, but he can also give you moments that take your breath away," said Sridhar.

Sridhar labelled Rishabh Pant as one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. The fielding coach also highlighted the fact that Rishabh Pant being a left-hander lends variety to the batting lineup.

"He is a great package, probably one of the most explosive cricketers and one of the most fearless cricketers going around. Plus he is a left-hander, so that adds a lot of variation in the middle order. So all in all, Rishabh Pant as a package is extremely exciting," concluded Sridhar.

"I have worked hard on my shot selection. Even in Brisbane, I stopped myself from being tempted to play the big Hits even as I was chasing down the target." - Rishabh Pant.#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/ODeyDtZfqp

— Anupam Bhaumik (@AnupamBhaumik_) January 25, 2021

Following his batting exploits Down Under, Rishabh Pant will now turn his attention to the upcoming Test series against England.

While he is a certainty to play only his third Test at home it remains to be seen if Rishabh Pant will continue to be the first-choice wicketkeeper or plays as a specialist batsman.