IND vs AUS: Parthiv Patel Urge Rishabh Pant to Work on His Wicket-Keeping Skills

Ever since Rishabh Pant has dropped the two catches on the first day of the third Test against Australia in Sydney, he has become the centre of criticism. Now after Ricky Ponting, now former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel also gave his views on the matter.

Notably, Rishabh Pant dropped the catches of Will Pucovski twice – first on 26 and second on 32. Pucovski, making his debut for Australia, looked under confidence while facing Ravichandran Ashwin and looked set for an exit on 26 when he edged the India off-spinner behind only for Pant to drop the ball cold.

He had added another six runs to his tally when he got another life, gloving the ball behind to give Pant a chance to redeem himself. Although he scurried back and leapt high to reach the ball, Pant was adjudged by the third umpire to have trapped it on the ground and Pucovski was recalled to the crease.

Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said that Pant has to work on his wicketkeeping skills to be able to keep on turning tracks or difficult wickets.

“There are a couple of things he needs to work on if he has to keep in Test cricket on turning wickets or difficult wickets. He has to work on soft hands and he also needs to point his fingers downwards.

“If you see the catch that was dropped (off Ashwin), his fingers were pointed forward instead down. He has to work on getting his fingers down.

“He went at it with a bit of hard hands. If you observe closely, his hands aren’t together, they keep separating. This has happened often and he’s also been working on it,” Parthiv Patel said on Cricbuzz Chatter.

Since His Debut in Test Cricket, He’s Dropped More Catches Than Any Other Keeper: Ricky Ponting On Rishabh Pant

Former Australia captain and Rishabh Pant’s head coach at Delhi Capitals Ricky Ponting has also criticised the India star. The legendary batsman has said that the wicketkeeper needs to work considerably on his wicket-keeping skills.

“The one’s (dropped catches) today are two that should be taken, simple as that. 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 Ponting told cricket.com.au.