Ravichandran Ashwin was visibly frustrated as Rishabh Pant missed a stumping opportunity of Jack Leach in the first session of Day 3.
Rishabh Pant’s wicket-keeping ability in subcontinental conditions has been a subject of debate that continues to gather steam even after his heroics with the bat, Down Under. With surfaces in the Asian countries being suitable for spinners, there were a few question marks on whether Pant will be the right man for the job.
The debate has once again come to the limelight after the Delhi dasher missed an easy stumping opportunity on Day 3 of the first Test at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
R Ashwin, who deceived Jack Leach with an off-spinner, was visibly frustrated as Pant failed to collect the ball and dislodge the bails in time. The ball slipped from his gloves.
Ashwin was later seen having a word with Pant after the England side got all-out.
Meanwhile, in Saturday’s morning session, England was bowled out for 578 in the 191st over of their first innings adding 23 runs from its overnight score.
Jasprit Bumrah (3-84) got the early breakthrough when he trapped Dominic Bess lbw for 34. Ravichandran Ashwin (3-146) then bowled James Anderson for one to end the innings.
Earlier, India’s fielding coach, R Sridhar backed Pant and said, “Pant is a great package as he is. As of now itself I’ll pick him in every team.”
“He’s a great package from behind and in front of the stumps. He has an infectious and youthful energy, and a raw approach he brings is a great package,” Sridhar told cricketnext.
“Yes his wicketkeeping is a work in progress. He keeps working hard. In Australia itself there have been many occasions where he has sacrificed his batting slots to work more on his keeping which itself is a great sign,” he said.
“He’s very open to improving his keeping, he’s listening and working hard. Lot of things are going for him, he’s only young. You have to cut him some slack, as time progresses he’s going to become a better keeper once he starts getting fitter. You’ll definitely see progress as you saw in Brisbane,” he added.
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