"He’s got one of the best defences in world cricket"- Ravichandran Ashwin hails Team India batter after BGT 2024-25

Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has hailed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant's defensive technique after the conclusion of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Pant endured an inconsistent series with the bat, scoring only 255 runs at an average of 28.33.

The southpaw scored just one half-century in nine innings despite getting off to solid starts on several occasions. Yet, Pant showcased his versatility in the final Test at Sydney with a 98-ball 40 and a 33-ball 61 in the first and second innings, respectively, on an extremely challenging batting wicket.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin hailed Pant's defensive skills and felt his first-inning 40 had unfairly flown under the radar amidst his second-inning onslaught.

"We must realise that Rishabh Pant rarely gets out playing a defence. He’s got one of the best defences in world cricket. Defence has become a challenging aspect, he has the best defence with a soft hand. I have bowled to him a lot in the nets, he’s not gotten out, he doesn’t get an edge, he doesn’t get LBW, he has the best defence. I have tried telling it to him. One opinion about Rishabh was that he plays a lot of shots, he has to fight it out in Test cricket," he said.

Ashwin added:

"I have always grown up hearing that you have fight it out. In Sydney, he played two different knocks in one single game. He got hit everywhere and scored a 40, it will be the least spoken innings of Rishabh Pant. It is very unfair. In the second innings, he scored a swashbuckling fifty, earning him a lot of praise. Everyone forgot that first innings and praised him for the second knock."

Ashwin has played with Pant in Team India for several years and recently retired midway through the Australian series.

Meanwhile, Pant boasts impressive Test numbers with almost 3,000 runs at an average of over 42 in 43 outings.

"Rishabh Pant is yet to realise his fullest potential" - Ravichandran Ashwin

Pant threw away several starts with rash shots against Australia [Source: Getty]

Ravichandran Ashwin believes Rishabh Pant is still to realize his full potential with the bat. He called on the wicketkeeper-batter to work on finding the ideal balance between defense and attack.

Despite his several heroic efforts in the past, Pant was heavily criticized for his untimely dismissals while playing rash shots during the Australian series.

"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," said Ashwin.

He concluded:

"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."

Pant played a massive role in India's back-to-back Test series wins in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21.

However, his sub-par showing in the recent series meant India suffered a 1-3 defeat to surrender the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia.