Dhoni's talent is rare but youngsters shouldn't copy him: Syed Kirmani

"In wicketkeeping, you have to follow a certain technique to have a good collection and anticipation," said Kirmani

While MS Dhoni is considered as the best gloveman in the world across the limited-overs format, the Indian team management is yet to get his mirror image in the longest format of the game. After trying out with Wriddhiman Saha, Naman Ojha, Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik, the team has stopped over Rishabh Pant at the moment. However, he seems to have broken into the Test side mainly on the basis of his batting and not his glove work.

Meanwhile, former Indian wicket-keeper and World Cup winner Syed Kirmani feels that Pant has a long way to go but, he is yet to learn the basics of wicket-keeping.

“He [Pant] is in the cradle of wicket-keeping. He is in the cradle of international cricket also. What is unfortunate is no coach is talking about technique anymore. The performance is what matters and MS Dhoni has proved that. The youngsters are following the likes of Dhoni from the point of batting as well as keeping,” said Kirmani.

Kirmani admitted that Pant can manage his batting but has to work hard with his keeping skills.

“In wicketkeeping, you have to follow a certain technique to have a good collection and anticipation. You got to have the agility, you got to have a good vision. Unfortunately, there is a trend of wearing glasses these days. When you have a good natural vision why bring a glass in front. Because of that, you may lose sight of the ball and your anticipation can also go haywire. You might miss a catch or stumping,” added the former Indian wicketkeeper.

Kirmani said Dhoni's talent is undisputed and rare but his style should not be copied by the youngsters.

"If you talk about the collection of the throw. He has to go right behind the stumps, not what Dhoni does (sometimes he takes it from ahead of stumps). Pant is following him. It is not a technique. You have to get behind in line with the stumps, your eye level should be in line with the bails to see where the ball is pitching so that you can judge it better,” Kirmani said.

Team India has mostly struggled to solve the problem of having a good wicketkeeper. It was resolved to some extent after Dhoni’s entry but now, the problem remains the same in the Test arena.

Saha, who took the charge behind the wickets after Dhoni’s retirement in 2014, is currently recovering from a major shoulder injury. Ojha failed to impress and so did Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel. On the other hand, Pant has shown a better performance with the bat recently. He scored a century in the fifth Tests against England and ended up at 92 while batting against West Indies in the Rajkot Test.