The former spin all-rounder of the India side, Ravichandran Ashwin, has stood beside his team-mates and the wicket-keeper batter of the side, Rishabh Pant, who faced a lot of criticism for his poor shot selection in both the innings of the fourth Test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 on the Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Ravichandran Ashwin remarked that Pant would be needed to find the right balance between defense and aggression to score consistently, as the latter had all the shorts in the book and could change the course of the game in a matter of few deliveries.
“We have to tell him properly what he has to do if he has to bat solid or bat with intent. He hasn’t scored a lot of runs, but he didn’t play like someone without runs. He has a lot of time on his hands. Rishabh Pant is yet to realize his fullest potential.” The Tamil Nadu spinner expressed this in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
Ravichandran Ashwin keeps Rishabh Pant in the same bracket with Joe Root and Steve Smith
Pant, the Delhi batter, finished the BGT 2024-25 with 255 runs in five games at an average of 28.33. In the first innings of MCG, he tried to reverse-scoop Scott Boland. After missing the first attempt, the Uttar Pradesh-born tried the same shot and was caught at deep third man.
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In the second innings, he pulled the short ball from Travis Head to find Mitchell Marsh, at long off region. However, he played two contrasting knocks in the two innings of the New Year’s SCG Test, as his 98-ball 40 runs in the first was followed by 33-ball 61 in the second innings.
“I have always grown up hearing that you have to fight it out. In Sydney, he played two different knocks in one single game. He got hit everywhere and scored a 40, it will be the least spoken innings of Rishabh Pant. It is very unfair.” Ravichandran Ashwin revealed in the discussion.
“In the second innings, he scored a swashbuckling fifty, earning him a lot of praise. Everyone forgot that first inning and praised him for the second knock.” The former all-rounder pointed out.
Touching on his defensive technique, the bowler praised Pant in the department and kept him in the same bracket alongside Joe Root and Steve Smith as the best batter in the last seven years. Ashwin also proved how batting has become significantly difficult, which has resulted in a drop in average.
“We must realize that Rishabh Pant rarely gets out playing a defense. He’s got one of the best defenses in world cricket. The defense has become a challenging aspect; he has the best defense with a soft hand. I will change my name if someone can show me Pant getting out while defending 10 times.” Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted.
The Chennai-born remembered their battle in the nets and how he failed to get his edge or trap before the stumps. He reckoned that Root and Kane Williamson had been in their zone while Steve Smith rediscovered him.
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“I have bowled to him a lot in the nets, he’s not gotten out, he doesn’t get an edge, he doesn’t get LBW, he has the best defense. I have tried telling it to him. One opinion about Rishabh was that he plays a lot of shots, he has to fight it out in Test cricket.” The Chennai Super Kings spinner elaborated.
“It was about me as an India cricketer, that’s over. But Ashwin as a cricketer is not over yet. I feel that there is still some distance for that.” The 38-year-old concluded.