Pant will go down as greatest wicketkeeper if..: Manoj Tiwari

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwari was full of praise for team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant and believes if he continues his own unique style of cricket, he will go down as the greatest wicketkeeper in history.

Pant has burst onto the scene in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, racking up 416 runs in just five innings so far, including two centuries at Headingley.

“Rishabh Pant is unique, he has his own style of play. His thinking and approach are different to batters which causes an unpredictable contest between the batters and bowlers. He sometimes does throw his wicket which causes criticism but his success rate is high. If a wicket-keeper is contributing 100 runs, historically Indian wicket-keeper batters have not been successful with the bat.

“We have had some great keepers like Adam Gilchrist, who was great behind the stumps and with the bat, in Indian conditions, we had MS Dhoni but I believe if he continues to play like this, he will go down as the greatest wicket-keeper in history,” Tiwari told IANS.

Pant is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the ongoing five-Test series behind skipper Shubman Gill. The young captain broke a plethora of records against England at Edgbaston and has already scored 601 runs so far.

The former India batter attributed Gill’s change in technique which has helped him overcome his woes against the in-swinging balls.

"Gill is in very good form and has made some technical adjustments. In earlier Test matches, he used to get bowled by incoming deliveries but he has worked on closing the gap between bat and ball. The benefit for that is he is able to play straight down the wicket. He is in control and in great form. It seems like he has added the responsibility of being a captain while betting. It is great to see a young batter lead the team,” Tiwari said.

The Lord’s Test also marked the return of the No.1 ranked bowler Jasprit Bumrah to the Indian side. The fast bowler missed the Edgbaston Test owing to workload management and replaced Prasidh Krishna in the side.

The 31-year-old rewarded the Indian fans by claiming figures of 5-74 which also etched his name on the Lord’s Honours Board. Tiwari spoke of the influence that Bumrah has on the India team.

“When Bumrah is playing, he is usually the best performer on the field. The form with which he is bowling it seems he will continue to trouble the batters. His ability with the ball and his IQ on the field is amazing. He has been India’s main man across all formats. When he is in the team, the self-belief of the side is much more,” Tiwari said.

--IANS

aaa/ab