India's star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant answered a tough question as he was asked to pick his favourite shot between Sachin Tendulkar's straight drive, Virat Kohli's cover drive and Rohit Sharma's pull shot. Rishabh Pant recently engaged with his fans through a Q&A session on the social media platform X. During this interactive session, Pant touched upon a variety of topics, including his predictions for the Ashes 2025-26 and his admiration for the batting prowess of cricketing legends. He was all praise for Sachin Tendulkar's straight drive, Virat Kohli's cover drive, and Rohit Sharma's powerful pull shot, stressing on the unique elegance and effectiveness of each stroke.
Pant's last appearance for Team India was during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Throughout the series, he amassed a total of 255 runs across nine innings, averaging 28.33. His best knock came in the Sydney Test against Australia, in which he ran riot with the bat with his explosive batting by scoring a blistering 61 runs off just 33 balls in India's second innings. However, India ended up losing the match by six wickets which cost them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.
Rishabh Pant predicts Ashes winner
During the Q&A session, Pant was posed a question by former England captain Michael Vaughan regarding the potential outcome of the Ashes series. In response, Pant skillfully avoided taking sides, diplomatically stating that The team which will play better cricket will win.
"#AskRP … Do you think England will win the Ashes this year ?" Michael Vaughan asked.
"The team which will play better cricket will win. 🙂" Pant replied.
Sachin's straight drive, Kohli's cover drive or Rohit's pull shot? Rishabh Pant picks his favourite shot
Meanwhile, Pant was also asked to pick his favorite shot between Sachin's straight drive, Virat's cover drive, and Rohit's pull shot, to which the star wicketkeeper came out with an epic response.
"Sachin's straight drive, Virat's cover drive or Rohit's pull shot - which one is your favourite?" Sportskeeda questioned.
"Sachin paaji's straight drive, Virat bhai's cover drive, and Rohit bhai's pull shot. All 3," Pant stated.
After losing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 after a decade of dominance, India are gearing up for the white-ball series against England on home soil. The series will comprise of five T20Is and three ODIs. However, Pant isn't part of India's T20I squad, but is expected to be named in the ODI squad for the series against England which hasn't been announced yet. The team management has opted for Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel as the preferred wicket-keeping options for the T20I series against England.
Despite his exclusion from the T20I squad, the 27-year-old has confirmed his readiness to return to competitive cricket. He is set to make his much-anticipated comeback in the Ranji Trophy, representing Delhi in their upcoming match against Saurashtra, scheduled to start on January 23. Ashok Sharma, the secretary of the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA), has officially announced that Pant will be joining the team in Rajkot ahead of the crucial match.
Notably, it will be Pant's first appearance in the Ranji Trophy since the 2017-18 season.