After batting failures for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League 2026, Rishabh Pant returned to action in international cricket with an 81-run knock in the IND vs AFG one-off Test. He didn’t take time to dominate the bowlers and once again showed everyone why he is regarded as one of the best batters in the longest format of the game.

However, he failed to complete a hundred, which disappointed former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who still considers the wicket-keeper batter as the best Test batter India has, but also highlighted his inability to play more responsibly.

“He has got out many times in the 80s and 90s. It is impossible to find a Test batter like him. But going for a shot on 80 is mind-boggling. Having completed 80 runs, can’t you add another 20 runs to your total? His shots have impacted India a few times at the wrong time. As a batter, he has to be more responsible. If he had converted 80s and 90s into hundreds, his stats would have been unbelievable,” Ashwin said.

“All batters are prone to mistakes, but Rishabh’s numbers are high in this regard. He has been told many times that he is committing mistakes, but he still ends up repeating them. I am not ok with that. He has been a part of more than 50 Tests, so he needs to bat according to the situations and the needs of the team on many occasions.”

R Ashwin revealed that he is a big fan of Rishabh Pant in Test cricket. He also rated him above Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and other Indian willow holders in red-ball cricket.

“Pant is the best Test batter. When he defends, even Sunil Gavaskar gets impressed. When he defends, he looks like a batter tailor-made for Test cricket. He has so much time to play his shots irrespective of the pace of the bowler,” he added.

Ashwin also revealed that he has spoken to Pant about the need to convert his starts into big innings. Yet, the 28-year-old batter continues to play the way he wants.

“I have told him that he has a lot of time to defend and can play all the shots instead of getting out. Many say it is his natural style. Natural game about playing percentage cricket in Test format.

A good shot has a 70 percent success rate. When you hit a ball over the fielders for a boundary, it is not a percentage shot,” hed concluded.