‘Yet To Realise Potential’: R Ashwin Weighs In On India Stumper Rishabh Pant’s ‘High-Risk’ Tactics During BGT Series

Team India’s performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy has been called out by fans and analysts. The Men in Blue failed to reclaim the coveted title as the Aussies successfully won the series with a 1-3 lead. However, India had a few positives in the series, with one of them being Rishabh Pant. The India stumper’s flair and tenacity made rounds and stood out among the rest in India’s losing cause. R Ashwin has pointed out some insights into his performance.

Recently retired Indian spin great R Ashwin believes Rishabh Pant will score a century in every game if the Indian wicketkeeper-batter can control his frivolity. The India star is known for his penchant to play expansive shots, which has often worked out on the team’s case. But Ashwin pointed out that many of Pant’s shots are risky, which prevents him from reaching his full potential.

“We have to tell him properly what he has to do if he has to bat solid or bat with intent. He hasn’t scored a lot of runs, but he didn’t play like someone without runs. He has a lot of time on his hands. Rishabh Pant is yet to realise his fullest potential.

“He has all the shots — reverse sweep, slog sweep, everything — but the problem is that all these shots are high-risk shots. With his defence, he will surely score runs every game if he faces 200 balls. The point is finding that middle game. If he combines all of it, he will score 100 runs every game. He has to find that middle game,” said R Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Rishabh Pant can single-handedly turn a match on its head. The Maverick batter played contrasting knocks in the two innings of the SCG Test, as his 98-ball 40 in the first was followed by 33-ball 61 in the second essay. The wicketkeeper, however, could not replicate his performance in the 2020-21 BGT, when he led India to a famous victory in the series decider at The Gabba, which was previously known as Australia’s fortress. Pant scored the second-fastest Test fifty by an Indian during the fifth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney recently, after a hard-fought 40 in the first innings of the same game.