'Your Lower Order Can't Contribute': Ashwin Imparts Crucial Advice To Rishabh Pant
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Ashwin has advised Pant to aim for double centuries to make up for the lower order's lack of contribution after India's defeat at Headingley.
Ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that if he were Gautam Gambhir, he would go up to Rishabh Pant and ask him to make a 200 the next time he was on 130 and not get out, since the lower order cannot contribute at all, with a lower order collapse playing a big role in India's defeat at Headingley.
Pant 's effort, of scoring twin hundreds in the first Test, went in vain as England chased down 371 to gain a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Ashwin has said that Pant now needs to think about the lack of performance from the lower order and not throw away his wicket.
Pant is now only the seventh Indian to score twin hundreds in a single Test, and he joins the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and ace batter Virat Kohli in an elite list. But a lower-order collapse paved the way for England to stage a comeback.
'Rishabh Pant scored twin hundreds; he joins an elite list of batters. Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli are all in the list and Rishabh Pant has now joined them. Rishabh Pant now has the highest number of centuries as an Indian wicketkeeper-batter," Ashwin said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
'Rishabh had a fantastic game, but I would like to repeat that he has a great defence. There is not even one shot in the book that he cannot play," Ashwin said.
The former Indian cricketer said that if he were in Gambhir's position, he would pull Pant aside and speak to him about the rising need for him to score double centuries.
'I sometimes feel if I was Gautam Gambhir, I would take him aside and tell him, 'you played exceptionally well and I would have loved to be the batter with the ability that you have' but can I request you to make a double hundred next time when you are batting at 130 because you know the lower-order cannot contribute much," Ashwin said.
The former India cricketer said that Pant shouldn't be compared with MS Dhoni, as the latter never batted at No. 5, as he was more of a keeper-batter.
'Comparing MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant is not fair. MS Dhoni never batted at No.5. MS Dhoni was a keeper-batter, and I would say Pant is a batter-keeper. There are a lot of differences in that," Ashwin said.
First Published:
June 26, 2025, 14:32 IST
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