Former Australian captain Ricky Pointing reckons that Rishabh Pant has still to do a lot of work on his wicketkeeping skills. His statement has come after the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman dropped the debutant Will Pucovski’s catch two times on the first day of the third Test, being played at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Rishabh Pant had put down Pucovski’s catch off Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj’s ball.
When the opening batsman was on 26, the opening batsman got the edge off the leggie’s bowl which carried to the keeper but Pant misjudged it and dropped a sitter. After three overs, Siraj created an opportunity when Pucovski was batting on 32 but a juggling effort from Pant gave another life to the debutant. This catch was a tough one but a good wicketkeeper would have taken it.
However, India’s debutant Navdeep Saini, finally, sent him back for LBW but Will Puckovski had registered his maiden Test fifty (52).
Rishabh Pant should have taken those catches: Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting, who also coaches Pant when playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), believes that the 23-year-old should have taken both the dropped catches. But he feels that Pant would be under less guilt because Puckovski could not turn up the two give opportunities to the big one.
“The ones (dropped catches) today are two that should be taken, simple as that,” Ricky Ponting told cricket.com.au.
“It’s probably lucky for Rishabh that Pucovski didn’t go on and make a big hundred or a double hundred and looking at the wicket, it looks like an unbelievable surface.
“I’m sure when Rishabh put those catches down, he would have thought the worst and ‘here we go, he’s really going to make me pay’ but (Pucovski) didn’t today.
He has got some work to do with his keeping: Ponting
The former Australian captain has no doubts about Rishabh Pant’s batting but admits that the youngster needs to works on his flaws in keeping. He didn’t even mince words to say that Pant would be leading the chart of keeper’s dropping the catches.
“I’ve said it all along, the knock-on Rishabh is always going to be on his keeping.
“Since his debut in Test cricket, he’s dropped more catches than any other keeper in the world. That highlights he has got some work to do with his keeping,” Ricky Pointing stated.
Talking about the rain-interrupted day one of the third Test, Australia have lost the wicket of Pucovski and Warner for 166 runs. Marnus Labuchagne, who has scored the first fifty of the Test series, will start day two with Steve Smith, who was counter-attacking Ashwin and Bumrah on Thursday.