IND vs ENG Test: ‘If I am Gautam Gambhir…’ – R Ashwin’s surprising plea to Rishabh Pant goes viral | Cricket News

India’s Rishabh Pant celebrates after scoring a century on day 4 of the primary cricket take a look at match between England and India at Headingley in Leeds, England, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)

Former India off-spinner R Ashwin has requested Team India coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill to have a phrase with Rishabh Pant forward of the second Test in opposition to England, to be performed in Birmingham beginning July 2.Rishabh Pant had a wonderful outing with the bat in Leeds, the place the wicketkeeper-batter slammed centuries in each innings. But his heroics weren’t sufficient, as India misplaced the Test by 5 wickets.“Rishabh had a fabulous game as a batter. I would like to repeat that Rishabh has got a great defence. There is not a single shot in the book that he cannot play,” Ashwin stated on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.However, Ashwin had one suggestion for Pant — that subsequent time when he crosses 100, he ought to try to convert it right into a double century.“I sometimes feel if I were Gautam Gambhir or Shubman Gill, I would take Rishabh Pant aside and say, ‘Bhai, tune kya batting kiya hai, kamaal ka batting kiya tune’ (Brother, you’ve batted brilliantly). I would love to be a batter with the kind of ability you have. But can I request you to make a double hundred next time when you’re batting on 130?” stated Ashwin.“You know we won’t get much contribution from the lower order, so please take the team to the last wicket. But what a fabulous batsman, what a fabulous cricketer, what a talented player,” he added.India head coach Gautam Gambhir, nonetheless, appeared in no temper to laud particular person brilliance, like Pant’s twin a whole bunch, when requested in regards to the positives from the opening Test loss to England, saying every thing boils down to outcomes — which his crew couldn’t obtain.

Never one to mince phrases or disguise disappointment, Gambhir supplied a fairly blunt response to a query on Pant’s efforts that finally couldn’t tilt the sport in India’s favour.“There are three more centuries as well. Those are big positives too. Thank you,” was his one-line reply to a pointed query on Pant.When pressed additional on the general positives, Gambhir stated, “I would have liked if you said there was a hundred from Yashasvi (Jaiswal), a hundred from Shubman (Gill) on debut as captain, a hundred from KL (Rahul), and two centuries from Rishabh. So, five centuries in a Test match is a great start, to be honest. And hopefully, the question could have been better,” he added.