Rishabh Pant took seven catches in a composed showing but his fearlessness was hailed after becoming the first Indian to get off the mark in Test cricket with a six, hoicking England leg-spinner Adil Rashid over long on off the second ball he faced. No surprise that former India stumper Farokh Engineer sees a bit of himself in the 20-year-old.
“I’m very impressed, he has tremendous reflexes. I love to see youngsters make a mark. He didn’t show any nerves and hit the second ball for a six. My first three balls I faced in Test cricket, I hit them for fours, but that was out of sheer nervousness” he said.
“Rishabh has guts and confidence. Some nerves are bound to happen being his debut. He wanted to get off the mark quickly and that is the shot he plays. But he was bubbling,” Engineer added.
“He gets up too soon. One must rise with the ball. He also positioned himself a bit too back, the slip cordon also. Jasprit Bumrah once called him forward. If I meet him, I will tell him. A wicket-keeper should stay as low as possible to move quickly and even turn half-chances into catches.