Mental trainer necessary for Rishabh Pant, opines Brad Hogg
Former Australian bowler Brad Hogg feels that Rishabh Pant has an enormous amount of talent and he can overcome his troubles with a mental trainer. The chinaman also added that the southpaw is extremely talented and he turns on the TV whenever the young Indian wicketkeeper comes to the crease.
Former Australian bowler Brad Hogg has heaped praise on Rishabh Pant as the chinaman believes the young keeper has an enormous amount of talent and can overcome his troubles with a mental trainer. Ever since Pant replaced Dhoni in the limited-overs circuit, he has been criticised by many, be it for his batting, wicket-keeping skills or his role when it comes to reviews.
Of late, Pant has found himself at the receiving end of criticism for his inconsistency in the field while playing for India. Hogg also added that Pant is extremely talented and he turns on the TV when young Indian wicketkeeper comes to the crease. Hogg spoke during an interactive session with fans on Twitter on Wednesday where he was asked if Pant could become one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world.
 “I turn on my television when Rishabh Pant comes to the crease, the entertainer,” his issue is he has got too much talent to know what to do with. He could do with a mind coach, a lot of great sportsmen use them. It is all in the mind for him,” said Hogg, as quoted by Sportstar.
Pant’s inconsistency has led to him losing his place to the in-form K. L. Rahul in India’s limited-overs team. In the two Tests in New Zealand, Pant, who was preferred over the more experienced Wriddhiman Saha, had scores of 19, 25, 12 and 4. Saha and Pant have been the two options used by the Indian team in the longer format, but Rahul’s form with the bat and gloves in recent times has meant that the Karnataka lad has made the position his own.
Last year, Australian great Adam Gilchrist advised Pant to work on improving his own game and being the best version of himself and not try to be a Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Earlier, former Australian stumper Brad Haddin had advised Rishabh Pant to "be himself" rather than copying someone else. Haddin, on his part, thinks that the weight of expectations from Pant's predecessor MS Dhoni is perhaps weighing hard on the 22-year-old but the best he can do is "to create his own identity"