The Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant faced a lot of criticism in the recently concluded series due to his poor shot selection. India lost the series to Australia by 1-3, closing their door to qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Till the time Pant realised his mistakes in the series, India's chances of almost winning the series were ended. Many criticised him for his strategy and shot selection; Sunil Gavaskar, in the match from the commentary box, shouted on one of his shots, 'Stupid, stupid, stupid.'
Although among all this criticism and trolls, India's former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin came in support of him and stated that he has one of the best defences in world cricket.
"Pant rarely gets out playing defence. He has got one of the best defences in world cricket. Defence has become a challenging aspect; he has the best defence with a soft hand."
Further, Ashwin said that he too bowled him in the nets, and he never got out, didn't get an edge, and no LBW. This is the reason he is the best defence.
"I have bowled to him a lot in the nets. He has not gotten out, doesn't get an edge, and does not get LBW. He has the best defence."
Pant's performance in the recently concluded series was a bit disappointing; his shot selection and dismissals drew a lot of criticism, especially in the second innings of the Melbourne Test. However, he showed his real game during the fifth Test in Sydney, scoring 40 runs off 98 balls in the first innings and 61 runs off 33 balls. He ended up the series by scoring 255 runs in 9 innings against Australia in the five-match Test series.