Rishabh Pant reminds me of my younger days: Farokh Engineer

Farokh Engineer expressed his satisfaction with Rishabh Pant’s development over the past few months. The legendary wicket-keeper also claimed Rishabh Pant reminds the 83-year-old of his younger days.

Rishabh Pant’s game has undergone a massive transformation in a matter of months. The youngster started the Australian tour behind Wriddhiman Saha but has made the Test wicket-keeper’s position his own with some sublime displays.

With the youngster praised from all quarters for his improved glovework against England, Farokh Engineer was asked whether the same makes him happy. Speaking to Indranil Basu on SK Live, the Indian icon agreed thata vastly improving Rishabh Pant is a treat to watch.

“Yes, very happy. Rishabh Pant reminds me of my younger days. He has vastly improved. He originally had some technical flaws. But he’s practised hard like MS Dhoni. When he came on the scene, he wasn’t a great keeper. But he practised and worked on his mistakes.”

Eventful Test match, but glad to get another win and lead the series 2-1. Lots to take from this game, including standout performances by @akshar2026 and @ashwinravi99 s who ensured I stood up to the stumps a lot more (and earlier) than usual! @BCCI pic.twitter.com/VV3FfiC5J6

— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) February 25, 2021

While Rishabh Pant’s batting prowess has never been in doubt, his improvement behind the stumps hasn’t gone unnoticed. The 23-year-old has kept well on turning tracks in Chennai and Ahmedabad, while also grabbing eyeballs with some stunning catches.

Widely regarded as the successor to MS Dhoni, Rishabh Pant’s great form has seen him make a return to the white ball side as well. He is part of the squad for the five-match T20I series against England, and Farokh Engineer listed three qualities that make Rishabh Pant a special cricketer.

"Rishabh has a wonderful eye. A wonderful sense of balance and timing. These are the three ingredients for a wicket-keeper or a good cricketer."

Envisaging a bright future for Rishabh Pant, Farokh Engineer expounded how the youngster would have been successful even if he did not play cricket!

“Rishabh Pant will be successful at whatever sport he plays. Because once you have a sense of timing, balance and anticipation you can play any sport. Wicket-keeping certainly needs these three things, and Rishabh Pant has all of them.”

Farokh Engineer’s take on Rishabh Pant’s banter

Some new punch lines expected from Rishabh Pant from Pink Ball Test? #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/rRWYXRuGIO

— Rishabh Pant FanClub (@RishabhPantFanC) February 24, 2021

In his short Test career, Rishabh Pant has developed a reputation for being a chirpy customer behind the stumps. His antics and interactions while keeping constantly make the highlight reels, leaving fans in splits. Farokh Engineer also gave his take on Rishabh Pant’s antics, saying all banter is acceptable till the time it doesn’t trouble the other players.

“All us wicket-keepers are chirpy. We will always be. As long as you don’t talk when the bowler is coming into bowl and all that (it is fine)”