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Rishabh Pant once again showed why he is one of India’s most dangerous batsmen in Test cricket, but his dismissal in the recent one-off Test against Afghanistan has left Ravichandran Ashwin disappointed. India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in Mullanpur, but Pant’s dismissal has once again raised questions about their approach as he missed out on a century.
The left-handed batsman was batting brilliantly and had reached 81 runs. As he approached his century, Pant decided to hit a big one despite fielders being deployed at long-off and long-on. The gamble backfired and he lost his wicket, falling just 19 runs short of his century.
Ravichandran Ashwin disappointed with Rishabh Pant’s careless shot selection against Afghanistan
Reacting to his dismissal, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticized Rishabh Pant, one of India’s best wicketkeepers, for the way he lost his wicket against Afghanistan in Mullanpur. The former all-rounder questioned Pant’s decision-making at such a crucial stage of the innings and felt that the star batsman keeps making the same mistakes in Test cricket.
Ashwin pointed out that Pant has now been out between 80 and 99 on nine occasions in his Test career, adding that converting those starts into centuries could have made his record even more remarkable as he is now part of the longest format of the game.
Ravichandran Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel, “You have been out so many times in the 80s and 90s. It is impossible to find such a great Test batsman. But to play such shots at 80 is mind-boggling. After coming to 80, can’t you play 20 more runs? He has hurt India many times with shocking shots at the wrong time. As a batsman, he has to take extra responsibility. If he has played his multiple In the 80s and 100s, his statistics would have looked incredible.
Ravichandran Ashwin raised questions on Rishabh Pant’s ‘game awareness’
The former Indian spinner has criticized Pant for showing more awareness of match situations despite playing more than 50 Tests for the team. He stressed that the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman should value his wicket and think about the needs of the team before taking risks.
The former off-spinner said, “All batsmen make mistakes, but the length of time he does it is disappointing. Especially when many people have told you that it is a mistake and still continue to do it, I have no problem with that. He has played more than 50 Tests now. So, he has to start playing as per the situation for the team on many occasions.”
Nevertheless, Ashwin considered Pant to be one of the finest Test batsmen of the modern era and praised his defensive technique, saying that the left-handed batsman has remarkable time to play the ball and has a strong all-round game capable of handling any bowling attack.
Ashwin urges Pant to make better choices at crucial moments
However, Ashwin, who criticized the Indian selectors for their mistreatment of Kuldeep Yadav, said that many experts and former cricketers have talked about his repeated mistakes and careless shot selection, yet Pant is losing his wicket in the same manner. He advised Pant to take additional responsibility and take the right decision as per the situation.
Ashwin said, “I have told him many times that you have so much time to defend and you can play whatever shots you want to play. Why do you get yourself out? Many people will say that is their natural game. But playing percentage is the natural game in Test cricket. A good percentage shot is knowing that there is a 70% success rate. When you think of hitting the ball over the fielders on the boundary, it is not a percentage shot at all.”
