India’s Rishabh Pant plays a shot (PTI Photo)
Ashwin Urges Pant to Enhance Match Awareness
Ravichandran Ashwin has called on Rishabh Pant to improve his awareness of match situations and take on more responsibility with the bat. This comes despite Pant’s commendable performance during the recent series against Sri Lanka.
Ashwin noted, “Rishabh played a class knock in Sydney and Brisbane, but you couldn’t have won that match without Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur. It takes 11 cricketers to build a Test and win it in the last session of the game, but it takes only 1 moment of foolishness to lose a Test.” His comments reflect the importance of teamwork and situational awareness in high-stakes matches.
Ashwin urges Pant to put team needs ahead of attacking instincts
Sehwag and Gilchrist played high brand of cricket, but these two don’t get edged out while dancing down to Marco Jansen when your team is trailing by 500 runs. All I’m saying, Rishabh, is that he is experienced; he has played 50 Tests. Because of his decision-making that he’s not playing the other two formats, it is.
It is about what your team needs,” Ashwin said on ‘Ash Ki Baat’. The day you tell him the truth, he will be an all-format player for India,” said Ashwin. Pant is currently a Test-only player for India after falling out of favour in the white-ball formats. Ashwin believes his decision-making in Test cricket remains an area that needs attention. “My expectation from Rishabh Pant hasn’t been fulfilled till now. I am very sorry. Sonal Dinusha had his strike rate up there. But the difference is high-risk options. When you have the game in your hand, these are all statements: ‘That’s how Rishabh plays. During the discussion, the host argued that Pant’s unique ability and his history of producing match-winning performances meant he should be given some freedom to play his natural game. “I am just talking about the times when these chances are being taken when the game is on the line. I love Rishabh the player. It is about playing situations in this format. Don’t place these marketing lines in front of me ever again,” he added. “Don’t give one player special treatment. This once-in-a-generation player backing, then give it to everyone. Jaiswal is also such a player. He needs to take responsibility. Don’t come up with this ‘once-in-a-generation’ argument. Pant’s current status outside India’s ODI and T20I squads has added further significance to Ashwin’s comments. Ashwin believes adapting his approach to different match situations could be the key to Pant eventually returning as an all-format player While he remains a key part of India’s Test setup.