'Maybe if he practices with Yuvraj Singh, he will perform well' - R Ashwin's huge statement on star batter ahead of IPL 2026

Ravichandran Ashwin opined that Rishabh Pant's training sessions with Yuvraj Singh could prove to be beneficial for the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) skipper during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Pant was roped in by LSG for a whopping INR 27 crore at the IPL 2025 mega-auction. However, the most expensive player in IPL history failed to live up to his reputation, scoring just 269 runs in 13 innings. Pant has also lost his place in India's T20 setup.

In a bid to revive his white-ball career, Pant had a camp with Yuvraj in Mumbai before entering the LSG dressing room. Ashwin believes that this could work wonders for the wicketkeeper-batter.

"Maybe if he practices with Yuvraj Singh, he will perform well. This could be the Midas touch that Rishabh Pant needs. But if they want to use Rishabh Pant well, Rishabh Pant should be opening the batting or batting at No. 3, according to me. He should not bat below that," Ashwin said in his latest YouTube video.

The ideal number to get the best out of him has to be opening the batting: Ashwin

Ashwin opined that LSG should open with Pant to bring the best out of him. The former India off-spinner said that either Mitchell Marsh or Aiden Markram, who opened for LSG last season and did well, should bat at the top of the order with Pant. Ashwin suggested dropping either Marsh or Markram in order to play an overseas pacer, and LSG struggled with an all-Indian bowling attack last season.

"If you want to go with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, then where do you play Rishabh? The ideal number to get the best out of him has to be opening the batting because if your captain is firing, that team looks very, very different, and Rishabh Pant, inside the powerplay, will have fewer problems to sort out. They will have to forgo one of their foreign batters and strengthen their bowling with foreign quicks," the cricketer-turned-expert said.

Pant and LSG will be opening their IPL 2026 campaign against neighbours Delhi Capitals on April 01 in a fierce battle at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. It will be interesting to see where Pant bats in the upcoming season of the cash-rich tournament.