Michael Vaughan feels Rishabh Pant's wicketkeeping in the second Test against England was India's biggest positive out of the match, but the former skipper also believes that the 23-year-old has a long way to go before he can be a good and consistent keeper in the world. Questions have been raised about Pant's wicketkeeping skills, but having taken two exceptional catches during England's first innings and pulling off two brilliant stumpings in the second, Pant proved how much work he's been putting behind his keeping.
However, Vaughan reckons one Test match is not enough and that Pant needs to keep doing it more often to be called a good wicketkeeper. "I will be honest. I think the biggest positive for the Indian team for Rishabh's keeping. I think that had been a massive question mark over the Indian team," Vaughan told Cricbuzz.
"Can they be the best in the world over a generation? You can't beat if your wicketkeeper is dropping the ball. That's a fact. You just can't. You need to keep a hold of the ball... stumpings, catches. Be very active behind the stumps."
Ever since Pant played the second Test against Australia in Melbourne in December, his batting has escalated to an all-time high with the batsman scoring four half-centuries between then and now. However, Pant's keeping was far from being a finished product with the youngster guilty of dropping catches in the last two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane. However, the way Pant took his catches in the Chennai Test was a testament to his hard work, especially the way he responded to R Ashwin and Axar Patel on a spinning surface was pretty impressive.
"We know that he's active because he's always a little bit chirpy and that's fine. But you've got to be able to catch the ball. His keeping in this game has been very, very good and that for me has been a massive positive for the Indian team. He needs to continue to work and get better, and catch a majority of the balls that come his way, and do it with better technique," Vaughan added.
"I think it's getting better all the time and he's probably doing a lot of work on the training ground - he's still got a long way to become a real, consistent keeper. One good Test match behind the stumps doesn't make you a good wicketkeeper. He's got to do it again."