Ravichandran Ashwin believes Rishabh Pant is yet to reach his full potential amid criticism for his poor shot selection during the recent five-match Test series against Australia.
Pant's recent performance has come under scrutiny after he failed to replicate his heroics from the 2020-21 Australia tour in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where India managed to win just one game in Perth.
Ravichandran Ashwin says Rishabh Pant is yet to reach full potential amid criticism of poor BGT 2024-25
In the recent five-match Test series, the Indian batsman-keeper could only score 255 runs at an average of 28.33, his highest score being 61 in the final innings in Sydney. India lost the Test series 1-3 to Australia, who won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after over a decade.
Well, Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired after the Adelaide Test last month, believes that Rishabh Pant has one of the best defenses in world cricket and has the ability to score a century every match if he can strike a balance between his aggressive play and patience. approach.
The recently retired Indian off-spinner has revealed that Pant has never been dismissed by him in the nets and has never overstepped or got LBW. Ashwin also praised the India left-hander for having every shot in the book and the ability to change a match in just a few overs.
Has all the shots but needs to find balance: Ravichandran Ashwin on Rishabh Pant
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “We have to tell him properly what to do if he has to bat solidly or bat with intent. He didn't score many 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 full potential.”
He added: “He's got all the shots — the reverse sweep, the slog sweep, everything — but the thing is, all those shots are high-risk shots. With his defense, he is sure to score every game if he faces 200 balls. The point is to find the middle ground. If he combines them all, he will score 100 runs in every game. He has to find that middle game.”
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Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant is known for his aggressive style of play but Ashwin was not surprised by his gritty and determined innings in the first innings of the Sydney Test. Pant scored the second-fastest Test 50 by an Indian, taking just 29 deliveries, in the first innings, after a much slower and hard-fought 40 in the first innings against Australia at the SCG.
Rishabh Pant rarely comes out playing a defence: Ashwin
Well, the former Indian all-rounder pointed out that Pant played two different strokes in one game. He was hit all over and scored a 40 and then scored a swashbuckling fifty in Sydney, Ashwin pointed out that everyone forgot the first innings and praised his fiery knock and that is very unfair.
He signed off saying, “We have to realize that Rishabh Pant rarely comes out playing a defence. It has one of the best defenses in world cricket. Defense became a challenging aspect; has the best defense with a soft hand. I will change my name if someone can show me that Pant comes out while defending 10 times.
“I bowled him a lot in the nets; he didn't get out; he doesn't have an edge; he doesn't have LBW; he has the best defence. I tried to tell him. One opinion about Rishabh. was that he plays a lot of shots, he has to fight in test cricket.