Ashwin Criticizes Pant's Repeated Dismissals in 80s and 90s, Urges Greater Match Awareness
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticized Rishabh Pant for getting dismissed in the 80s and 90s multiple times, most recently during India's Test against Afghanistan where Pant was out for 81. Ashwin acknowledged Pant's exceptional talent but argued that his repeated high-risk dismissals at crucial moments have cost India and prevented the wicketkeeper-batter from converting promising positions into centuries. With over 50 Test matches played, Ashwin believes Pant must balance his natural attacking instincts with greater situational awareness and responsibility to the team.
Ravichandran Ashwin has publicly critiqued Rishabh Pant's batting approach, specifically highlighting the wicketkeeper-batter's pattern of getting dismissed in the 80s and 90s rather than converting these strong positions into centuries. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin praised Pant's immense ability and acknowledged his reputation as one of India's premier match-winners with eight Test centuries from 50 appearances. However, Ashwin questioned why Pant continues to play high-risk shots after reaching 80 runs, suggesting that converting multiple 80s into 100s would make his statistics "unbelievable." While noting that all batters make mistakes, Ashwin expressed concern about the frequency of Pant's dismissals and emphasized that despite receiving feedback from teammates, Pant continues the pattern. Ashwin concluded that with over 50 Test matches under his belt, Pant is now experienced enough to place greater emphasis on game awareness and situational play alongside his natural attacking instincts.
What's missing
The specific shot that led to Pant's dismissal against Afghanistan is not described in detail, making it difficult to assess whether Ashwin's criticism of it being 'mind-boggling' is fully contextualized.
What different sources said
- Times of IndiaCenter
'Playing such a shot is mind-boggling': Ashwin tears into Pant
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