Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has named Rishabh Pant as the best Test batter he has seen, but criticised his inability to convert his starts into big scores after his 81 in India’s innings and 300-run win against Afghanistan in the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur. 

“He’s [Pant] actually the best Test batter. When he defends, it’s so good that even Gavaskar is impressed. When he defends, the ball literally pleads if it can move off the square to him. He has so much time, irrespective of how fast the ball comes at him,” said Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube Channel.

Pant, coming off a dismal season in the IPL, scored a well-made 81 off 121 balls, piling on runs after KL Rahul’s century and Sai Sudharsan’s 81. He was dismissed after trying to step out against Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, skying one to Azmatullah Omarzai at long-off. Ashwin singled the wicketkeeper-batter out for playing a poor shot when well set and taking more responsibility with the bat.

“You’ve got out so many times in the 80s and 90s. It’s impossible to discover such a great Test batter. But playing such a shot on 80 is mind-boggling. Having come to 80, can’t you play for another 20 runs? He has cost India a few times through baffling shots at the wrong time. As a batter, he has to take that extra responsibility. If he had converted his multiple 80s to 100s, his stats would look unbelievable,” Ashwin said in the video

Ashwin further added that he is disappointed with how many times Pant has thrown starts away, urging him to bat more in accordance with the situation as a senior batter who has played over 50 Test matches. He further stated that Test cricket is about playing percentage shots, which are low risk.

“All batters make mistakes, but the amount of time he does it is disappointing. Especially when so many have told you that it’s a mistake and to still keep doing it, I am not okay with that. He has played more than 50 Tests now. So he needs to start playing the situation for the team on many occasions,” Ashwin said.

“I’ve told him so many times that you’ve so much time to defend and can play whatever shot you want to. Why do you get yourself out? Many will say it’s his natural game. But natural game is playing the percentages in Test cricket. A good percentage shot is knowing there is a 70% success rate. When you look to hit a ball over the fielders on the boundary, it’s not a percentage shot at all,” he added.

Pant’s innings consisted of six fours and three sixes, and he stitched a partnership of 169 runs from 216 balls with captain Shubman Gill, who scored a brilliant 129.

Ben Stokes shared his candid opinion on the pitch used for the first Test between England and New Zealand at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London last week. Alongside prodigious swing, the two-paced nature of the surface tipped the scales heavily in favour of the bowlers, as they had the batters dancing to their tunes.

The match would have gotten over inside three days if not for the rain. England scored 140 and 226 in their two innings, while the Kiwis managed 113 and 138. The tourists lost the match by 115 runs as England emerged victorious in the 150th Test match at Lord’s.

England captain Stokes said that such pitches won’t help in the progress and sustainability of the longest format of the game.

According to BBC statistics, it was the lowest balls-per-wicket ratio recorded in England since 1907. Of the 40 wickets that fell in the contest, 24 came either bowled or lbw, highlighting the challenges posed by the pitch.

“I get asked a lot about the future of Test cricket and what we need to do to keep it growing,” Stokes was quoted as saying by India Today after the match.

“As someone who loves Test cricket, my one thing to say is: is this something that will benefit Test cricket going forward? I don’t think so,” he added.

Stokes urged the curators to make more balanced surfaces where a fair battle between bat and ball can be witnessed.

“If there wasn’t any rain, the game’s going to end early. Is that what we want to end up doing? You sort of want to find somewhere in the middle,” he said.

The second Test is scheduled to be played at the Kennington Oval in London. New Zealand are 0-1 down and will look to bounce back strongly. Another defeat for them would make the third Test in Nottingham inconsequential and severely dent their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final.

Australian stand-in captain Josh Inglis admitted that the absence of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head from the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh is unfortunate. However, he believes their withdrawal will create valuable opportunities for other players in the squad to step up and make an impact.

Marsh and Head were initially expected to feature in Australia’s squad for the series but pulled out shortly before the tour, resulting in Inglis being handed the captaincy responsibilities. Despite the added leadership role, Inglis stressed that he is not looking too far ahead and remains focused on the immediate challenge of leading the side in Bangladesh.

The wicketkeeper-batter also highlighted the depth within Australian cricket, expressing confidence that the players coming into the squad can seize their chance and contribute positively during the series.

“I wouldn’t say that (expecting to lead the ODI squad after the World Cup). I haven’t looked that far ahead to be honest. Obviously there’s guys missing and I’ll step in when I need to, but I’m really proud to be able to sit here and captain my country over the course of these last few series. It’s really special for me (to lead the side) and it’s nice. We have got a relatively inexperienced group and I think that’s pretty fun. It’s a lot of fun for these guys coming and playing in different conditions. I’m just trying to take all the experience in and just grow,” said Inglis as quoted by Cricbuzz.

“I think anytime you take Mitch Marsh and Travis Head out of the team, you lose something. They’re both incredibly good players. It’s unfortunate that they’re not here, but similarly with the Pakistan series we’ve just had, I think it’s really important that a few younger guys are getting some experience in these conditions. Obviously, there’s a World Cup on the horizon as well, so to be able to look at some different combinations and some different guys before then, I think is really important,” he added.

Speaking ahead of the ODI series, Inglis acknowledged the threat posed by Bangladesh pace sensation Nahid Rana, describing him as a challenging bowler whom Australia will need to prepare for carefully. Inglis also revealed that Australia’s team combination will be finalised only after a thorough assessment of the pitch conditions. He noted that the surfaces in Bangladesh are expected to be significantly different from those encountered in Pakistan, making adaptability a key factor for the visitors.

“What’s my take on Nahid Rana? I haven’t seen a hell of a lot of him, but what I have seen, he looks like a really good bowler, a really exciting prospect. He’s tall and he bowls fast, so it’s a pretty nice combination to have. He’s going to be really tough work for us all. It’s very exciting. We don’t play Bangladesh very often, especially over here in Bangladesh. So, it’s my first time here and I know it’s the same for a lot of the other guys too. We’re incredibly excited about this series. We haven’t named a team yet, so we’re going to have a look at the wicket today and you’ll see that tomorrow,” said Inglis.

“I think the lessons we’ve learned (in Pakistan) are just about adapting to conditions. I think we’re going to get different conditions here in Bangladesh, but I think it’s just being really clear about your game plan, how you want to go about it, and then just doing it for longer and longer. I think the guys that had some success did it reasonably well, but we want to do it for longer and longer and get those really big scores,” he added.