"Arre yar chhotu, idhar mat maar na"- Ashwin on how Ravi Shastri used reverse psychology to fire up Rishabh Pant

Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri saw Rishabh Pant's rise as India's premier Test batter from close quarters. He helped the southpaw realize his potential in the longest format and was also present in the dressing room when Pant played some incredible knocks.

One of those knocks came in the Chennai Test during England's tour of India in 2021. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin recalled a conversation between Shastri and Pant where the coach told the southpaw to try reverse sweeps.

Ashwin asked Ravi Shastri about the thought process behind that chat.

"He (Pant) is a very unique character, unique guy, he's very special. He kept tonking (England spinner) Jack Leach over the top. You were having a chat with him the next day and you said 'arre yar chhotu, idhar mat maar na yaar, reverse sweep maar' (don't hit there, play the reverse sweep)," said Ashwin.

Here's what Shastri replied:

"Absolutely! Because I knew if I tell him don't play it (the shot), that's against his nature (and) he might play it even more."

Ravi Shastri read Rishabh Pant's mindset well and understood how to get the best out of the left-hander. He smashed left-arm spinner Jack Leach for fun during the Test match and Shastri's trick seemingly worked.

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Ravi Shastri had a similar chat with Rishabh Pant during BGT 202/21

Rishabh Pant played a sensational knock of 97 in the Sydney Test of the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, falling agonizingly short of a hundred after being caught at covers off Nathan Lyon's bowling.

Ravi Shastri recalled a conversation with Pant where he fired up the batter by saying that Cheteheswar Pujara was making merry by scoring runs off the new ball. He recalled:

"When I went to the loo, he was still sitting with his pads on. I said, 'All your runs Pujji is scoring. He hit seven boundaries.' I said you're boring me by playing this way. I said ulta bhi maar na (reverse sweep)."

Shastri shed light on the importance of man management and how important it was for him to understand the mindset of each individual as they were all unique players in their own right.