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Ravichandran Ashwin believes Rishabh Pant can excel as a pure batter despite his shot choices.
Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal during the MCG Test (Picture credit: AFP)
Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Rishabh Pant can play as a pure batter without wicketkeeping duties, because of the sheer batting talent he holds, but his choice of shots is sometimes questionable, with the vice-captain expected to play a big part in the upcoming five-Test series against England.
Pant has evolved to be a match-winner for India in Tests with his capability to turn the situation around in the middle-order.
Pant had copped immense criticism, most from Sunil Gavaskar, for his dismissal in the Boxing Day Test against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“I think Rishabh is a high-quality Test batter. He can just walk into that team as a pedigree Test batter, even if he does not have to hold on to the gloves. Fantastic Test batter with a questionable choice of shots sometimes, but I guess he comes with it, and he gives you match-winning knocks,” Ashwin said while speaking to RevSportz.
“It’s only a matter of time before he finds out the formula and rectifies it to become more consistent. He should be walking in at No. 5, as No. 6 for him would be a bit too late in my view,” Ashwin added.
Pant heads into the England tour after a dismal IPL 2025 campaign while leading the Lucknow Super Giants.
According to an update by BCCI, captain Shubman Gill and senior cricketer KL Rahul scored fifties, while Shardul Thakur was among the wickets on the first day of the intra-squad game. No updates were provided on Pant.
Along with the star India wicketkeeper-batter, Test skipper Gill heads into the tour with huge responsibility on his shoulders as well.
“About Shubman Gill, I think he is already too overwhelmed by the attention and responsibility he has got. If I were in his place with such a high-pressure job, I would want to have a very good start as a batter,” Ashwin said.
“As a batter, he will have his share of questions on his place, as England can be a very tough place to bat. But if he makes runs, runs will give confidence, and that would in turn rub off on to captaincy,” Ashwin added.
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