Rishabh Pant not as relaxed with the gloves as he should be: MSK Prasad

India’s chief selector MSK Prasad doesn’t think there is a specific factor because of which Rishabh Pant’s keeping is suffering at the moment. According to Prasad, it’s a combination of several factors.

Prasad, who himself was a wicket-keeper batsman and played 6 Test matches and 17 ODIs for India, reckons that one of the reasons why Pant’s keeping is not a finished product yet is because he hasn’t played as much domestic cricket as he should have played to enhance his keeping technically.

“Since he got in the Indian side at a young age, he hasn’t played much domestic cricket. That is also one of the reasons.” Prasad was quoted saying by Hindustan Times.

Also see – BPL 2019 Schedule

Secondly, Prasad also thinks it’s Pant’s form with the bat which has affected his keeping. For keepers, especially in modern-day cricket where they are playing as a batsman as well and not just as a specialist gloveman, their performance with the bat and their performance with the gloves are interrelated.

If somebody is under pressure because he has not been able to score a lot of runs, it’s only natural that his body stiffens up and that’s not ideal while you are keeping wickets. Your muscles need to be loose which helps you in your movement up and down and also in collecting the ball cleanly and smoothly.

In Prasad’s views, Pant has not been highly consistent with the bat of late and he is feeling the pressure which is why he has not been as relaxed as he should have been behind the stumps. However, Prasad insists if somebody can score Test hundreds in England and Australia, as Pant has done, he must be backed properly.

“If you don’t keep well, it affects your batting. Whenever you are under pressure, you stiffen up. Your arms, shoulders, biceps, forearms - everything stiffens up. That’s when the ball starts popping out because of hard hands.” Prasad said.

“If he has that sort of ability, to get Test hundreds in Australia and England, he needs to be backed.” Prasad further added.