After a poor season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rishabh Pant returned to national duty with an 81-run knock for India against Afghanistan as well. Pant, who struggled for runs in the LSG jersey, didn’t take much time in proving why he is one of the most fearsome batters in Test cricket. But, seeing Pant get out without scoring a hundred, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was disappointed. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin named Pant the “best Test batter India has” but shared 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.
“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,” he again added.
READ HERE: Shubman Gill Breaks Silence On ODI Futures Of Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli
However, R Ashwin couldn’t hide the fact that he is a big Rishabh Pant fan in Tests. He even rates Pant above the likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and other top Indian batters in the long format as well.
“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.
“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,” he concluded.
