Interview with former India keeper Nayan Mongia: Temperament, handling pressure key for Rishabh Pant

One of the major talking points in Indian cricket in recent times has revolved around Rishabh Pant. By the end of 2018 and early 2019, with Wriddhiman Saha still nursing an injury, the Delhi stumper had scaled to peaks seldom seen before in a youngster donning the big gloves.

Within a period of five months, Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score hundreds in Australia and England before suffering a worrying dip in form recently. With former India captain MS Dhoni being his predecessor, Pant has the unenviable task of filling the slot of his team’s go-to keeper-batsman for the next decade.

Every mistake of the 21-year-old, be it behind the stumps, incorrect DRS calls or getting out while trying to hit his way out of trouble, is magnified.

The Indian management and selectors have consistently backed Pant but, in many quarters, patience is running thin.

Former India wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia, while asking for more patience with the youngster, also thinks that the southpaw should polish his skills.

“Yes, he needs to work on his keeping for sure,” Mongia told Scroll.in on the sidelines of an event organised by the Rotary Club of Mumbai, lending support to the upcoming Road Safety World Series. “He missed a few [opportunities]; that’s a part of the learning process. Keeping in South Africa and Australia is different from keeping in India, Sri Lanka or Pakistan. He will get better with age. Look at [MS] Dhoni, he had an unorthodox technique but became better with time. It’s all about temperament.”

Mongia stressed on the need for Pant to remain stress-free.

“You see, ups and downs are a part of an international career. It is up to him how he handles pressure. Just leave him and let him play his natural game. The real pressure comes when you are batting and keeping under pressure. Especially in the subcontinent.”

For Indian cricket lovers in the 1990s, Mongia was a regular feature in Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar’s teams. The 49-year-old was a livewire behind the stumps, keeping against the likes of Anil Kumble, Venkatpathy Raju, Harbhajan Singh, Rajesh Chauhan and Co with aplomb.

Recently, Pant was sidelined for the fit-again Saha during India’s comprehensive whitewash over South Africa at home. The 34-year-old was in fine form, donning the gloves to India’s spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Mongia singled out fitness, concentration and agility as the pre-requisites of a wicketkeeper looking to make a name in the subcontinent.

“The key for any keeper in the subcontinent is, when you are keeping for about 60-70 overs in a day, you need to watch the ball; there should be anticipation; you need to get up with the ball.

“Moreover, you are always close to the stumps so the margin of error is quite limited. You don’t get much time to react so your fitness and concentration has to be good. All of this makes you a good keeper. You need to be alert and cannot afford to fumble the ball whatsoever. There will be one chance that you might get before lunch, tea or Stumps. Grabbing that opportunity will give you confidence,” Mongia said.

While Mongia refused to get drawn into the Pant vs Saha debate in detail, he stressed the need to have a keeper who is assured with his craft for the five-day game. There is a section in Indian cricket that believes that Pant’s swashbuckling batting abilities alone merits a place in the side across formats.

“You need to have both skills to survive in international cricket these days,” Mongia said. “In shorter formats, you can make that compromise [of having a batsman who is also a keeper] but in Test matches, I feel you need to have specialised keepers, just like you need specialist openers.”

Mongia, though, was effusive with praise for Saha, who made a triumphant return from a long-term injury.

“I remember the first IPL,” Mongia said. “In front of my eyes, he created a run-out chance from a bad throw. That is when I knew that he is a good keeper. The makings of a good keeper has always been there in him and he has worked hard in domestic cricket. He was injured, unfortunately. But, he came back strongly. It depends about how fit and strong you are. The more matches you play, the better keeper you become.”