SYDNEY, Jan 7: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting on Thursday slammed Rishabh Pant for his below-par wicket-keeping on the opening day of the third Test here, stating that the Indian youngster has dropped more catches than any other keeper since his debut and needs to work harder.
Pant, on the first day at the SCG, dropped Will Pucovski on 26 and 32 respectively 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 told ‘cricket.Com.Au’.
“The one’s (dropped catches) today are two that should be taken, simple as that,” he said.
Ponting said that on a flat track, Pucovski could have caused more damage with a daddy hundred.
“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 also happens to be Pant’s head coach at IPL franchise 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.”
Ponting said that Pant’s keeping will always keep him under scanner.
“I’ve said it all along, the knock on Rishabh is always going to be on his keeping,” he said. (PTI)
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