'Pant sacrificed batting sessions for that. I don't see any modern cricketer doing it': Sridhar makes massive revelation
India's former fielding coach R Sridhar lift the lid on Pant's enormous hard work behind the scenes after he lost his place in the Indian team in 2020.
For Team India's young wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, the Test series against Australia was probably a defining moment. Pant had been struggling to find a place in the Indian limited-overs team due to inconsistent performances prior to the series, having lost his place to KL Rahul. However, India's stunning batting collapse in the first Test of the series against Australia (36 all-out in second innings in Adelaide) prompted the Indian team management to pick Pant in place of Wriddhiman Saha.
There was no turning back for Pant from then onwards, as the 24-year-old scored a brilliant 97 in the third Test, and went on to play a match-winning unbeaten 89-run innings in Gabba, that secured India a 2-1 series victory. Pant gradually made a return to the Indian side in all three formats, and in June earlier this year, he even led the team in a five-match T20I series against South Africa.
Pant is a part of the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup and the side's former fielding coach R Sridhar has now lift the lid on Pant's incredible hard-work, especially on his wicketkeeping skills. In Tests, Pant was primarily benched in favour of Wriddhiman Saha due to the latter' superior wicketkeeping skills but Sridhar revealed that Pant worked so hard on his glovework that a “book” can be written on it.
“He is come up leaps and bounds as a wicketkeeper. The way he has worked to improve his wicketkeeping... I was very fortunate to be a small part of his journey and to see him evolve as a wonderful wicketkeeper, especially in subcontinent conditions,” Sridhar said on cricket.com.
"His keeping abilities had always remained in question, especially against wicketkeepers on turning tracks. Covid came, he worked hard at home, he came into the IPL and he didn't have a great IPL, he lost his place to KL Rahul as wicketkeeper. He would remember that as a defining moment of his career because that made him work harder. In adversity, he found out better of himself.
“He worked hard so hard on that Australian tour. It was mind-boggling. He sacrificed batting sessions to improve his wicketkeeping. I don't see any modern-day cricketer doing that. He did that. He went drill after drill to improve his footwork, glove-work, reaction skills, hand-eye coordination skills. I can write a book about it. I can go on and on. He worked really hard,” Sridhar revealed.
Pant remains India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Tests and ODIs, while his position in the shortest format sees a stiff competition from veteran India star Dinesh Karthik, who made a strong return to the international setup after this year's Indian Premier League.
