"Rishabh Pant will go on to become somebody who is very safe, very steady as a keeper" - Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik believes Rishabh Pant will go on to become a safe wicketkeeper in the future. However, Karthik thinks the Delhi Capitals star will always be a 'batsman-wicketkeeper' rather than a 'wicketkeeper-batsman'.
Rishabh Pant has moved up the pecking order ahead of Wriddhiman Saha after the former's brilliant showing with the bat in Australia. Even in home conditions, Team India have decided to stick with Pant behind the stumps.
Speaking to Indranil Basu on SK Live, Dinesh Karthik opined that Pant's keeping would improve as he is trying hard to become a good wicketkeeper.
"He is putting a lot of effort into his keeping, and that's always a good sign. He's trying to genuinely become a keeper. But he is always going to be a batsman-keeper, he is not a keeper-batsman.
"He is always going to contribute a lot more with the bat than with his gloves. As he keeps improving, he will go on to become somebody who is very safe, very steady as a keeper over a period of time," Karthik said.
Dinesh Karthik also puts himself in the 'batsman-keeper' category rather than the 'wicketkeeper-batsman'. The Tamil Nadu star believes batting is the primary skill in modern-day cricket.
"I'm a batsman-keeper. It's the name of the game, you contribute as much as you can with the bat. I try and do the best i can with the glove. Though i know batting is a primary skill compared to keeping," Karthik added.
Rishabh Pant has shown signs of improvement with the gloves, taking two brilliant one-handed catches in the ongoing Test match against England. However, his keeping against the spinners still leaves a lot to be desired. Given that he is still 23, India have seemingly decided to back him even though he does spill some chances once in a while.
Dinesh Karthik praises Rishabh Pant
Given Rishabh Pant's ability to take on bowlers, Dinesh Karthik feels he will always give headaches to the opposition bowling attack. He said:
"What he will definitely produce in Test cricket is a lot of uncertainty for the opponents in terms of setting fields and the way he takes on bowlers, it will put a lot of doubt and a lot of pressure on bowling attacks."
In his short career, Rishabh Pant has emerged as a match-winner for India in Test cricket. Given his recent form and performances, he could soon go on to establish himself in all formats of the game for the Men in Blue.