Rishabh Pant sharpens glove work with Kiran More’s help | Cricket News

RAJKOT: He slammed a magnificent hundred in a losing cause in the last Test at The Oval, but Rishabh Pant couldn’t escape the heavy criticism that came his way after conceding as many as 76 byes in six innings during India’s recent Test tour of England. Many have felt that the 20-year-old’s glove work may get exposed even more on the spin-friendly conditions likely to be available on days four and five during the forthcoming two-Test home series against the West Indies.

The talented youngster, however, is determined to prove his critics wrong by working hard on his ’keeping skills.

Soon after returning from England, Pant had said that he would practice ‘keeping on turning tracks, with roughs, at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.

The BCCI, on its part, is doing all it can to help Pant, likely to be a vital cog in India’s wheel in the coming years, become a better ‘keeper.

TOI has learnt that at the behest of Team India coach Ravi Shastri, BCCI GM, cricket operations Saba Karim, himself a former India ‘keeper, asked Kiran More to help out Pant during a short stint at the NCA before the series against West Indies, which begins here on October 4.

More, who played 49 Tests and 94 ODIs, was known for his lighting glove work behind the stumps, something that Shastri, his former India teammate, would have been well-aware of.

“More has been doing a lot of work with the NCA for the last three years, particularly with India’s Under-16, 19 and 23’keepers. So, the BCCI has a fair idea of what he can offer, but this is the first time that he’s been directly asked to help the India ‘keeper. It’s a specialized skill that he teaches. He has worked on Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan too in the past,” said Board insider.

“Yes, I worked on him for three days to help him prepare for this series,” More said, before citing his agreement with the BCCI to not speak on the issue. A source at the NCA, though, threw more light on what Pant learnt under the former chief selector during a short time in Bangalore.

“Pant worked on a couple of camps at the NCA before, but the problem is that it’s difficult to follow up on the progress later. They worked on small technical areas like balance, head position and movement on the leg side. It’s difficult to work on a lot of things in just three days. However, More did whatever he could in this short period. Improving one’s ‘keeping is a long-term process, but Rishabh’s response was superb,” he explained.

While he was reluctant to reveal the areas on which he worked on the Delhi ’keeper, More was forthcoming in his praise for Pant. “He’s an outstanding talent. He’s a 10 saal ka ghoda. He’s very good. His agility is fantastic. He’s got good hands. He’s got a good sense of the game. He’s smart about his game.

“He’s a guy ready for international cricket, and wicketkeeping is something at which you become better with experience. When Dhoni had come, everyone had said that he’s not a good Test wicketkeeper. However, now he has 800 victims in international cricket. So, you need to have patience with Rishabh,” he felt.