Since debut, Pant has dropped more catches than anyone else: Ponting

Sydney: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting today slammed Rishabh Pant for his below-par wicketkeeping, stating that the Indian youngster has dropped more catches than any other keeper since his debut and needs to work harder.

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Pant dropped Will Pucovski on 26 and 32 as the debutant opener went on to score 62. The two unlucky bowlers were Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Siraj.

“Since his debut in Test cricket, he’s dropped more catches than any other keeper in the world. That highlights he has got some work to do with his keeping,” Ponting said. “The ones (dropped catches) today are two that should be taken, simple as that.”

Ponting said that on a flat track, Pucovski could have caused more damage. “It’s probably lucky for Rishabh that Pucovski didn’t go on and make a big hundred or a double hundred and looking at the wicket, it looks like an unbelievable surface,” Ponting, who is Pant’s head coach at IPL team Delhi Capitals, said. “I’m sure when Rishabh put those catches down, he would have thought the worst and ‘here we go, he’s really going to make me pay’! But (Pucovski) didn’t today.”

“I’ve said it all along, the knock on Rishabh is always going to be on his keeping,” Ponting added. PTI