Former India cricketer Farokh Engineer had seen a bit of himself on the young Rishabh Pant when the latter made his Test debut for India against England at Trent Bridge.
Meanwhile, Pant made a significant contribution bagging seven catches including a five in the first innings. He showed great composure and fearlessness to become the first Indian to open the innings with a six in Test cricket.
Talking about Rishabh Pant, Farokh Engineer admitted that Pant impressed him. He also noted that the debutant showed no signs of nerves on his debut.
“I’m very impressed, he has tremendous reflexes,” he said on Sunday. “I love to see youngsters make a mark. He didn’t show any nerves and hit the second ball for a six. My first three balls I faced in Test cricket, I hit them for fours, but that was out of sheer nervousness,” he added.
Farokh Engineer made his Test debut against England at Kanpur in 1961, becoming famous for his sharp keeping to the famed spin quartet, and aggressive batting.
“Rishabh has guts and confidence. Some nerves are bound to happen to be his debut. He wanted to get off the mark quickly and that is the shot he plays. But he was bubbling,” Engineer added.
Rishabh Pant needs minor adjustments: Farok Engineer
The former cricketer who currently lives in Manchester feels Pant needs some minor improvements. Pant’s one blemish was dropping Jos Buttler, who went on to score 106 during India’s win.
“He gets up too soon. One must rise with the ball. He also positioned himself a bit too back, the slip cordon also. Jasprit Bumrah once called him forward. If I meet him, I will tell him. A wicket-keeper should stay as low as possible to move quickly and even turn half-chances into catches.
“But Rishabh Pant will learn. Overall, his performance was brilliant,” Farokh Engineer concluded.