&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'Rishabh does not like batting...,' Ashwin reveals why Pant didn't bat ahead of Akash Deep on day 4 at Lord's")
When India lost skipper Shubman Gill on day 4 (Jul 13) of the third Test against England at Lord's, Akash Deep came out batting hurriedly instead of Rishabh Pant. The wicketkeeper-batter, having injured his finger in the first innings of the match, did not come out to bat for whole another reason as per former India bowler Ravi Ashwin. The former spinner revealed that Pant doesn't like to bat in the last half an hour so and that's the reason he didn't come to bat.
“Rishabh does not like batting in the last 30-40 minutes of the day. That’s why they sent Akash Deep. But see, it is about protecting your best batter, yes. But when you send a batter like Akash Deep and then he gets out, it puts you in even more of a situation. When we were playing against New Zealand, the same thing happened. When Virat Kohli got out, Rishabh was not in a mood to go out. Then we had to Siraj. And when he got out, again a proper batter had to go out," Ashwin said on his podcast after the fourth day's play.
“I’ll tell you a story. Remember that Test match in Mirpur when India were chasing some 140 runs to win? So I was sitting and relaxing in the dressing room after bowling. It was all hot and humid. I was sitting next to the analyst and Rahul Dravid (head coach) was there a little further. After we lost the first two wickets, Rishabh said ‘main nahi ja raha batting karne’ (I am not going out to bat) to Rahul (Dravid). There was a good 30-40 minutes left. But he said I am not going. When the next wicket fell and the No. 4 batter was supposed to go in, he went inside and they had to send Axar Patel first, I guess, and then Jaydev Unadkat to go in as the nightwatchman," he also shared.
Pant, who came to bat on day 5 (Jul 14), could manage only nine runs of 12 balls before being bowled by Jofra Archer.
