Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant is well known for his sharp retorts on the pitch and he provided an example of that during a recent interaction with Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist. In an episode of the Club Prairie Fire podcast, co-hosted by Vaughan and Gilchrist, Pant was asked to sledge the former England skipper and he came up with a hilarious reply. “I would say (to Vaughan) your’e focussing too much on social media,” Pant said. When asked to sledge Gilchrist, Pant simply replied – “He’s in his own zone, you cannot disturb these kind of people. Nothing much I can say to him.”
Pant was also asked if he had any advice for the England team on how to defeat Australia. The India star replied that the batters need to play the cut shot more instead of punching every delivery.
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“They already know what they need to do. As a batsman, I would say a simple thing, instead of punching the ball, look to cut the ball. That’s what I would say (to England’s Bazballers). Because when you punch the ball there is more chances of you getting caught, or just getting out. Australia is the best place for cuts and pulls. The fuller ball will not disturb you much. Mostly it’s going to be back of length. These guys bowl the fuller ball littler wider off the off stump. In England, you can punch the ball in a better way.”
Meanwhile, Pant heaped praise on youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal and said that the 22-year-old is someone who stays in the present and doesn’t think about the future.
Jaiswal recently won the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2024, beating competition from New Zealand superstar Kane Williamson and Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka.
The left-handed batter is currently leading the ICC World Test Championship in runs scored, and two brilliant double-hundreds in back-to-back Test matches against England in February have helped him along.
While speaking at the Club Prairie Fire podcast with Adam Gilchrist and former England skipper Michael Vaughan, Pant said that the youngsters have done an “amazing” job by stepping up for India.
He added that if Jaiswal continues to perform like that then he will go a long way.
“Really amazing. The way all the youngsters are stepping up. I think it’s been really amazing because, you know, over a period of time, some new people come to the team. Every time you won’t see them performing, but when they perform and keep their heads (down)… Like not thinking too much… And Jaiswal is someone who likes keeping his head down and just keeps doing what he is doing. And I think if he keeps on doing that, then there’s a long way to go,” Pant said at the Club Prairie Fire podcast.
(With PTI inputs)
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