"Be Ugly, Look Ugly": Rishabh Pant Receives Stunning Advice From India Great Ahead Of England Tests

NDTV

a day ago

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Sourav Ganguly advises Rishabh Pant to adapt his batting style for the upcoming Test series.
Ganguly criticises Pant for playing too many shots during the recent series against Australia.
He emphasises the need for Pant to play according to the merit of the deliveries faced.
Former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly had an interesting advice for Rishabh Pant ahead of the five-match Test series. Pant had a somewhat disappointing series against Australia and his form in the IPL 2025 resulted in a lot of criticism from fans as well as experts. In an interaction with Revsportz, Ganguly also expressed his displeasure with Pant's performances recently and said that he played "too many shots" against Australia. Ganguly said that he should adapt his gameplay to the conditions and should stop swinging at every ball and play the game according to the merit of the deliveries.
'I did not like what I saw of him in Australia. Too many shots. Just too many shots. He was just swinging at every ball, and that's not how you bat in conditions where the ball was moving around a bit," he said.
Ganguly also went on to say that Pant should show fight against the England fast bowlers and even advised him to "be ugly" if the situation demands.
'He (Pant) needs to show fight. He has a very good defence. That's what I want to see. I want him to fight and grind down. Be ugly. Look ugly. But don't swing at every ball and give it away. I know he is a stroke-maker and that's his strength, but then he will have to adapt and play accordingly," Ganguly said.
Ganguly believes that Shreyas Iyer should have been picked based on his current form and he is not "the player who got left out".
'He has been playing at his best in the last one year, and should have been in this team. Last one year has been fantastic for him. He isn't the player who got left out. He is now scoring under pressure, taking responsibility, playing the short ball well. Although Test cricket's different, I would have had him in this series to see what he can do," Ganguly told RevSportz.