Dravid said that the team management challenged Pant during the UK tour "to bat according to the situation". He made special mention of Pant's unbeaten 64 in the one-day final when he was the last recognised batsman at the crease
Young Delhi wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, who was recently included in the Indian Test squad for the England tour, has received the backing of batting legend and India A and U-19 coach Rahul Dravid.
With regular Test glovesman Wriddhiman Saha sidelined due to injury, the selectors opted for Dinesh Karthik for the five-Test series in England slated to commence from 1 August.
The MSK Prasad-led panel picked 20-year-old Pant as the back-up stumper in the squad. Pant was already in England with the India A team when the Test team was announced.
Praising Pant for his talent, Dravid said the left-hander had “the temperament and skills” to bat differently in the longer version of the game.
“Rishabh was quite excellent on the tour (of England). He is obviously a very talented player. He showed in three or four innings that he was willing to bat differently. We all know the way he bats. Even in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season, he got over 900 runs and his strike rate was 100 plus, and we have seen him bat similarly in the IPL as well,” Dravid told BCCI’s website after the completion of India A's tour to the United Kingdom.
Dravid said that the team management challenged Pant during the UK tour "to bat according to the situation". He made special mention of Pant's unbeaten 64 in the one-day final when he was the last recognised batsman at the crease and also his century partnership with Jayant Yadav against West Indies A.
“He showed that he could bat differently. He has the temperament and skills to bat differently. He is always going to be an attacking player, but reading of the situation when you are playing red-ball cricket is required. We are glad he has been picked in the national team and I hope he takes this maturity into the national team and hopefully builds from thereon,” the former India captain added.
Dravid said the UK tour was successful, but felt it was a "bit disappointing" to lose the last match of the tour against England Lions.
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