Rishabh Pant came in for a lot of criticism for his poor shot-selection during crucial times in the recently-concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, and by the time he realised his mistakes with a patient knock in Melbourne, it was too late to prevent a 1-3 series defeat for India. But to the surprise of fans, former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Pant possesses “one of the best defences” among the current batters.
Explaining what he meant, Ashwin said it’s difficult to dislodge Pant when he decides to defend, something which Ashwin himself experienced while bowling to the Indian wicketkeeper-batter in the nets.
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“Pant rarely gets out playing defence. He has got one of the best defences in world cricket. Defence has become a challenging aspect; he has the best defence with a soft hand,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
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“I have bowled to him a lot in the nets. He has not gotten out, doesn’t get an edge, does not get LBW. He has the best defence,” added Ashwin, who announced his retirement from international cricket after the third Test in Brisbane.
Pant’s performance in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia was largely disappointing. His reckless shot-selection and dismissals drew criticism, especially in the second innings of the fourth Test, when he had done all the world to reach 30 of 103 balls. The very next ball he showed needless aggression and perished while going for a big shot.
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However, he showcased two sides of his batting during the fifth Test in Sydney with two contrasting knocks — a patient 40 off 98 deliveries, followed by an aggressive 61 from just 33 balls.
Pant ended up making 255 runs in 9 innings during the five-Test series in Australia.