‘Please don’t do that front flip’: R Ashwin explains why he wants Rishabh Pant to stop doing trademark celebration in Tests

Veteran spinner Ashwin asked Rishabh Pant to not do his hand spring celebration in Tests because 5 days of gruelling cricket tend to take a take a toll on the body. The celebration has become a trademark of the Indian wicketkeeper batter on his return to the game after his horrific car crash in December 2022.

Ashwin also said that Pant should be compared to Virat Kohli rather than Mahendra Singh Dhoni because the latter never had to bat at a position as high as No.5. Pant slammed twin centuries in the recently-concluded 1st Test at Leeds but India still lost by 5 wickets.

“… Rishabh Pant should be compared with the likes of Virat Kohli…He is a mainstream batter. Because he has got so much time….some of these special batters have that knack of picking the ball early. They pick the line quickly, pick the length quickly and they get into lovely positions. Rishabh Pant is one of those rare players who has got that special skill,” he said on his YouTube Channel Ash Ki Baat.

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“I’ve only one request, please don’t do that front flip. In Tests, your body gets tired unlike in IPL where you will not play more than 50-60 balls. He is a bona fide top batter in the Indian lineup. So he has nothing to prove,” Ashwin added.

In the match, Pant became only the second designated wicketkeeper in the history of the game to score hundreds in each innings with Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower the other who scored 142 & 199* vs South Africa in Harare in 2001.

Hailing Pant’s twin centuries as a rare feat, Ashwin suggested that the wicketkeeper-batter should look to stretch those efforts further.

“Rishabh has had a fabulous game as a batter. But I would like to repeat that Rishabh has got a great defence. There is not one shot in the book that he cannot play… Can I request you to make a double 100 next time when you’re batting at 130? Because, you know that lower order doesn’t mean more contribution. So, in your situation, I request you to please take the team to the last day,” he said.

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