For all the promise and pedigree of Rishabh Pant, the young wicket-keeper has not been able to nail down his spot in the Indian team across formats and this why, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad did say that for the upcoming Test series against South Africa, the management could well consider Wriddhiman Saha as the primary wicket-keeper in Test matches.
An average of 22.90 in ODIs and 21.57 in T20s doesn't do justice to the kind of promise he has shown as per Lance Klusener, who is in India as South Africa's batting coach believes that the left-hander's tendency to get ahead of himself costs him his wicket and this is where he needs to learn sooner than later.
'Tends to be a bit ahead of himself'
"It would hard for me to pinpoint but with a phenomenal talent like that, one always tends to get a bit ahead of himself," Klusener, who is currently in India as the white ball batting coach of the South African team, was quoted by PTI.
The former South African all-rounder has also said that Pant needed to give himself a lot more time at the crease before he started expressing himself. "What gets you ahead in international cricket is learning from others' mistakes rather than making your own mistakes along the way and learning," he said.
Klusener also said that for Pant to be successful in international cricket, he needs to surround himself with good people and soak in their advice at all times. "It's wonderful to have the talent like Rishabh in the twilight years of MS Dhoni's career. From an Indian point of view, maybe they should try and get him to contribute more.
"He has some wonderful coaches and players around him so take their advice but at the same time don't curb your natural talent," advised Klusener.
In the past, MSK Prasad and later Virat Kohli had already thrown their weight behind Rishabh Pant and now the young man needs to buckle down and make the most of his potential. There are other options knocking on the door and in Saha, the Indian side already has a viable option in Test cricket.
"To begin with, Rishabh is the first wicketkeeper. But the team management is a bit wary about his wicketkeeping skills on Indian pitches. So, we have left it to the team management," Prasad stated after he announced the Indian Test squad.
