‘To play a shot like that is amazing’: Ashwin tears into Rishabh Pant after another missed century

India’s Rishabh Pant (AP Photo) Rishabh Pant’s impact on Indian Test cricket is undisputed. Over the years, the wicket-keeper batsman has built a reputation as one of India’s premier match-winners, producing game-changing knocks in difficult conditions and often shifting the momentum through his attacking style. With eight Test centuries from 50 appearances, Pant has become one of the defining players of his generation in the longest format.However, his fearless batting philosophy remained a matter of debate. While this aggressive approach has helped him produce some of the most memorable innings by an Indian batsman overseas and at home, it has also led to frustrating dismissals at crucial moments. Pant often threw away opportunities to convert promising scores into hundreds, especially after reaching the 80s and 90s, opting to continue with the high-risk game rather than adjust his approach.Although this method generally worked in his favour, there were occasions when it drew criticism, particularly when his wicket came at a crucial stage of the innings.A recent example came during India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan. Pant looked set for another major score before being dismissed for 81. While India were firmly in control of the contest and the dismissal did not have much effect on the final result, former teammate Ravichandran Ashwin later highlighted the innings as another case of the wicket-keeper batsman not learning from past mistakes.Taking to his YouTube channel, Ashwin praised Pant’s immense ability but questioned his tendency to lose focus after getting into strong positions. The former Indian spinner suggested that Pant’s repeated dismissals in the 1980s and 1990s denied both player and team even greater rewards.“In the 80s and 90s, you get so many times. It’s impossible to discover such a great Test batsman. But to play such a knock for 80 is mind-blowing. When you get to 80, you can’t play another 20 runs? He cost India several times with inaccurate shots at the wrong time. As an extra 0 batsman, he converted his responsibility to 8. 100s, his stats would look incredible,” Ashwin said on your YouTube channel.Ashwin further claimed that Pant is now experienced enough to put more emphasis on awareness of the game and match situations. After crossing the milestone of 50 Test matches, the former spinner feels that Pant needs to more consistently balance his natural attacking instincts with the demands of the situation.“All batsmen make mistakes but the amount of time he does it is disappointing. Especially when so many people tell you it’s a mistake and still keep doing it, I’m not happy with that. He’s played more than 50 Tests now. So he needs to start playing the situation for the team on many occasions,” he added.