Indian spin great R. Ashwin believes that if the flamboyant Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant learns to rein in his extravagant ways and impetuosity, he will score a century in all his matches, as he possesses “one of the best defences” in world cricket. Amazing ability has been heaped up on the player who possesses prowess to single-handedly change the outcome of a game in its middle. Most of the shots that he plays are very high-risk, but such shots don’t enable him to fulfill his potential,” Ashwin said. Pant recently set a record for the second-fastest fifty for an Indian in Test history in the fifth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney, scoring just 40 in the first innings of that very match.
“Batting solid or batting with intent has to be told to him well, for he has bat like that and not scored much. But the way he played was hardly that of a batsman who hasn’t scored runs. Plenty of time for him really. Rishabh Pant has yet to see his best,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“All the shots are there — reverse sweep, slog sweep, everything — but the problem is, they are all very high-risk shots. With his defence, he will surely score runs every game if he faces 200 balls.
A middle game needs to be found if he combines all this; then he will score 100 runs in every game. He will find that middle game,” said the recently retired cricketer.
The keeper, however, could not replicate his heroics in the 2020-21 BGT when he made India win an improbable series decider at Gabba, which was then considered to be an impregnable fortress for the Australians. Pant played very different innings in the two innings of the SCG Test, managing 40 runs in 98 balls in the first innings and managing an explosive 61 runs in 33 balls in the second.
According to Ashwin, the keeper’s fighting innings during the first essay didn’t surprise him because it wasn’t something Pant would be most known for. “It is not surprising, in fact,” Ashwin said.
It was about that hearing people say “You have to fight it out.” In Sydney, he played two different kinds of innings in one game, got hit all over, scored a 40, and that will be the least mentioned innings of Rishabh Pant, ” Ashwin said, terming it unfair.
“He made a roaring fifty in the second innings, filling his pockets with praises. Everybody forgot about the first innings and started praising him for the second knock,” added Ashwin.
Speaking on Pant’s defensive technique, Ashwin said he was one of the best in that aspect and appeared to judge the Indian along with Joe Root and Steve Smith as the best batsmen of the last seven years, when batting has become “much tougher although averages have dropped.” “We must understand that Rishabh Pant very rarely gets out for playing a defence. He has got one of the best defences in world cricket. Defence has become a challenging aspect; he has the best defence with a soft hand.
“I have bowled to him quite a lot in the nets; he’s not getting out; he doesn’t get an edge, he doesn’t get LBW, he has the best defence: I have tried to tell this to him.” It was somehow Rishabh running into the talking point regarding playing many shots: he has to fight it out in Test cricket,” as told by Ashwin.
“All the aspects that come into Test cricket, these have come into play in the past seven years; in the period from 2018 to 2025, the game has become immensely difficult in batting. In the WTC cycle, batting averages have gone down.
“Joe Root is in his own space. Of course, Williamson… Smith has got back in touch again that Rishabh Pant has played in these times.” Ashiwn, 38, who put down the international boots right in the middle of the BGT, stated he still enjoys the game.
“That was me, as India cricketer; that is over. But Ashwin as cricketer is not over yet. I feel that there is still some distance for that
“I feel that I can talk about my personal decision over a period of time. In fact, I want to document my entire story as an Indian cricketer.”
