Rishabh Pant's improvement as wicketkeeper has been remarkable, like MS Dhoni: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Rishabh Pant for his “remarkable” growth as a wicketkeeper. Manjrekar feels that the 24-year-old does not talk as much behind the stumps and has taken the job seriously. He also heaped praise on Pant for his batting performance after India’s Test match against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Manjrekar said that there was no doubt that Pant’s batting has been impressive, adding that he has established himself as a “potential great”. While the former Indian batter admitted that he was a little skeptical about the left-hander’s glove-work in English conditions, he loved Pant’s commitment and called it “strikingly brilliant”.

“No doubt about that,” said Manjrekar on Sony Sports, when asked if Pant, the batter, has impressed. “He has established himself as a potential great that we are watching. Five hundreds and just one at home and rest away from home is just incredible. But I want to just talk about his keeping, a lot has been spoken about his batting.”

Big news for India is the growth of Pant the wicketkeeper: Manjrekar

“I just love how seriously he has taken that (wicketkeeping) job. Because, after doing well with the bat, you can sometimes ease off. I was a little skeptical about his ability as a keeper, especially in these kind of conditions. The big news for India is the growth of Pant the wicketkeeper,” said the 56-year-old.

“You don’t see him chattering much around the stumps. He has taken the job very seriously, and his improvement has been remarkable, just like Dhoni. How he sort of improved as a keeper. I loved his commitment because you can take this job a little easy while being so successful as a batter. It’s strikingly brilliant,” added Manjrekar.

Rishabh Pant was one of the top performers in the rescheduled fifth Test match against England, scoring a hundred and a fifty in the two innings, and a total of 203 runs. England, however, won the game, chasing a total of 378, and setting a new record for their highest successful chase in the format. Jonny Bairstow won the Player of the Match award as he scored twin hundreds and a total of 220 runs.