After a season full of setbacks in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rishabh Pant returned to national duty with an 81-run knock for India against Afghanistan. Pant, who struggled for runs in the Lucknow Super Giants jersey, didn’t take much time in proving why he is among the most fearsome batters in Test cricket. But, seeing Pant depart without scoring a hundred, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was left disappointed. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin call Pant the “best Test batter India has” but lamented his inability to take up more responsibilities.
“You’ve got out so many times in the 80s and 90s. It’s impossible to discover such a great Test batter. But playing such a shot on 80 is mind-boggling. Having come to 80, can’t you play for another 20 runs? He has cost India a few times through baffling shots at the wrong time. As a batter, he has to take that extra responsibility. If he had converted his multiple 80s to 100s, his stats would look unbelievable,” Ashwin said in the video, as he criticised Pant for not showing enough patience to convert his 81 into a century.
“All batters make mistakes, but the amount of time he does it is disappointing. Especially when so many have told you that it’s a mistake and to still keep doing it, I am not okay with that. He has played more than 50 Tests now. So he needs to start playing the situation for the team on many occasions.”
Ashwin couldn’t quite hide the fact that he is a big Rishabh Pant fan in Tests. The former all-rounder even rates the wicket-keeper batter above the likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul Yashasvi Jaiswal and other top India batters in the Test format.
“He’s (Pant) actually the best Test batter. When he defends, it’s so good that even Gavaskar is impressed. When he defends, the ball literally pleads if it can move off the square to him. He has so much time, irrespective of how fast the ball comes at him,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin also revealed that he has had quite a few conversations with Pant about buying time and converting starts into bigger totals. Yet, the wicket-keeper batter continues to apply himself as he deems fit.
“I’ve told him so many times that you’ve so much time to defend and can play whatever shot you want to. Why do you get yourself out? Many will say it’s his natural game. But natural game is playing the percentages in Test cricket. A good percentage shot is knowing there is a 70% success rate. When you look to hit a ball over the fielders on the boundary, it’s not a percentage shot at all.”
