India stalwart Rishabh Pant grins as he speaks of his father’s influence in him taking up the demanding job of wicketkeeping from a young age. The Delhi Capitals skipper says it is Rajendra Pant, a wicketkeeper himself, who inspired him to don the gloves and take up the physically challenging duties behind the stumps.
Speaking on the SG Podcast, Pant unveiled his father’s touch behind his journey as a wicketkeeper. He stated how seeing his father go about his trade behind the three sticks was a huge trigger point in him becoming a keeper as well.
“I have no idea if my wicketkeeping has got better or not, I am just trying to give my 100 percent every single day. I was always a wicketkeeper batter. As a kid, I started doing wicketkeeping because my father was a wicketkeeper too. That’s how it all started out,”
the 24-year-old said.
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Today as he has emerged as MS Dhoni’s all-format successor, Pant can also confidently speak of the requirements of a keeper at the top-level game. He shared technical and tactical tips for all the youngsters hoping to scale a similar ascent to play for India and establish themselves as a global star.
“You need to keep yourself agile if you want to be a good wicketkeeper. If you are agile enough, it will help you.
“Second thing is to watch the ball till the end. Sometimes what happens is that we know that the ball is coming so, we tend to relax, but you should be watching it till you catch it. Lastly, be disciplined and work on the technique.”
Pant can speak of these traits of a quality keeper, having himself developed into one by making some drastic changes from the time he began playing for India. With time, the young gun has showcased greater flexibility in moving to both sides of the wicket against both quicks and spinners and started receiving the ball with soft, comfortable hands rather than going at the ball hard.
This was most visible on last year’s tour of England where he almost didn’t let go a chance the whole trip, a major contrast from his first visit in 2018 to the country considered the most challenging for wicketkeepers because of the persistent, late swing and seam movement off the deck with high speeds.
Pant also highlighted how he keeps himself going amidst such a physically and mentally demanding schedule. Having just finished his campaign as the skipper of DC, the player now resumes his international duties for India, being the stand-in vice-captain for the T20I series against South Africa starting on June 9.
“When you play throughout the year, you want to refresh your mind, especially with the kind of pressure with which we play constantly. “If you can’t refresh your mind, you won’t be able to give your 100 per cent,”
he said.
The jump to playing deputy to KL Rahul in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma reflects Pant’s stronger footing and value to the set-up and is also a nod from the selectors to his leadership acumen, seen over a large sample size through repeated editions of the Indian Premier League for Delhi.
Pant will be entering the T20I series versus Proteas in reasonably good form with the bat, having struck 340 runs at a strike-rate of 151.78 in IPL 2022.
