Sourav Ganguly Heavily Criticizes India Vice-Captain Rishabh Pant's Performance In BGT 2024-2025 Against Australia: 'I Didn’t Like What I Saw'

Ahead of India's five-match Test series against England, former cricketer and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly criticized Rishabh Pant's performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023-2025.

The Indian wicketkeeper-batter displayed a poor performance in the BGT 2024-2025 series against Australia, scoring 255 runs in five matches and nine innings at a strike rate of 59.02 and an average of 28.33.

India conceded a 3-1 series defeat to Australia in the BGT 2024-2025, which put water on Rohit Sharma's side's dream of playing in the WTC 2023-2025 Final.

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Sourav Ganguly Criticizes Rishabh Pant's Performance In BGT 2024-2025

While speaking to Revsportz, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly heavily criticized Rishabh Pant, saying that he did not like the wicketkeeper-batter's playing style in BGT 2024-2025.

“I did not like what I saw of him in Australia. Too many shots. Just too many shots. He was just swinging at every ball, and that’s not how you bat in conditions where the ball was moving around a bit," Sourav Ganguly said.

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Ganguly also pointed out the good things in Pant's batting, saying that the 27-year-old has a very good defence.

Before India's five-match series against England, the former BCCI president asked Pant not to hit every ball in the red-ball cricket, but rather to adapt to the situation.

“He (Pant) needs to show fight. He has a very good defence. That’s what I want to see. I want him to fight and grind down. Be ugly. Look ugly. But don’t swing at every ball and give it away. I know he is a stroke-maker and that’s his strength, but then he will have to adapt and play accordingly," he added.

The forthcoming series will be crucial for Rishabh Pant as he needs to reply to a lot of critics who have questioned his performance after India's recent tour of Australia. Now, Pant has added responsibility as he has been named as the newly appointed captain Shubman Gill's deputy. 

Rishabh Pant's Stats In Tests

Rishabh Pant has scored 2948 runs from 43 Test matches and 75 innings, at a strike rate of 73.62, and an average of 42.11. The wicket-keeper batter made his Test debut for India in 2018 against England.

India's upcoming series against England will begin from June 20th at Headingley. The second match of the series will be played from July 2nd at Edgbaston. Lord's and Old Trafford Cricket Ground will host the third and fourth Tests from July 10th and July 23rd, respectively. The final match of the series will be played from July 31st at the Oval.