Did Ashwin say Rishabh Pant is better than Adam Gilchrist ?

Rishabh Pant has been making waves in Test cricket with his outrageous hitting for quite some time now and has cemented his position as the number five batter in India’s Test batting line-up. Pant has lived up to all expectations in the first two Tests of the ongoing five-match Test series against England. With two centuries in two Tests, he is currently the third leading run-getter in the series, only behind Shubman Gill and Jamie Smith. 

It’s no hidden secret that Ravichandran Ashwin is a great admirer of Rishabh Pant’s batting. Time and again, he has praised India’s wicket-keeper batter for his batting exploits. Meanwhile, a video clip has now been circulating in which the legendary spinner made a huge remark on Pant. 

Ashwin said that Pant shouldn’t be compared only with Adam Gilchrist and deserves to be put in the same bracket as some of the other world-class batters. He reiterated that Pant has a great defense and mentioned that Gilchrist didn’t have that. 

“Rishabh Pant is not a newbie anymore. So now, I want to judge Rishabh Pant by his own standards. I want to benchmark him against Rishabh Pant.” Ashwin spoke in a video circulating on his Youtube channel.  

“Adam Gilchrist didn’t have this kind of defence. Pant has a high-quality defence. He should be compared with some of the best batters in the world, not just wicketkeepers. People often compare him with Gilchrist, but he’s not. Gilchrist was a very good gloveman who took games away batting at No.7. Rishabh Pant is batting at number five. Rishabh Pant can do “Pant things”.  Ashwin added. 

Rishabh Pant is steadily establishing himself as one of the biggest entertainers in Test cricket history. He has managed to turn things around with his ferocious hitting display in the two Tests played so far in the series. He played a stunning knock of 134 runs in just 178 balls in the first innings of the first Test match. Pant smashed 12 fours and as many as six sixes during his enterprising knock. 

He followed this up with another century in the second innings, smashing 118 off 140 balls. He continued his good run in the next Test match, registering scores of 25 and 65.