'You Sledge, Right?' Australian PM's Hilarious Interaction With Rishabh Pant Will Leave You in Splits
the whiff of Rishabh Pant's good-natured banter and like the most of us, he too appreciated Indian wicket-keeper's on-field antics.
With the final Test of the four-match series between India and Australia only a day away, the players from both the nations assembled at the residence of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to kickstart the new year in style.
While the focus was mostly on skipper Virat Kohli and Bollywood actress and his wife Anushka Sharma, what really stole the show was Pant's interaction with the PM at his residence on January 1.
It was Pant's turn to meet and greet with the PM when Morrison's remark to Indian wicket-keeper left everyone present in the room chuckling. "You sledge right?" questioned the Australian PM. "You are very welcome, we like competitive game," he added.
This was in reference to Pant and Aussie captain and wicket-keeper Tim Paine's banters during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
It all began on Day 3 when Paine taunted Pant about being left out of the ODI squad and asked if he could babysit.
“Tell you what, big MS is back in the one-day squad too, we might get him (Pant) down to the (Hobart) Hurricanes this bloke, we need a batter,” Paine had said from behind the stumps.
“Fancy that Pant? Extend your little Aussie holiday? Beautiful town Hobart too. Get you a nice apartment on the water-front. “Have him over for dinner. Can you babysit? (Can I) take the wife to the movies one night, you can look after the kids?” he had further added.
Not the one to back out, Pant joined the party on Day 4 and gave it back to Paine.
“Have you heard of a temporary captain ever?” Pant said as the Australian captain started his innings began his innings. “We’ve got a special guest today, come on boys. Special appearance today boy. Come on. No responsibility there from captain.”
“Have you heard of a temporary captain ever? Have you heard of anything like a temporary captain ever? You don’t need anything to get him out, boy.
“He loves to talk. That’s the only thing he can do boy. Only talking.”
The Pant-Paine banter came to a 'wholesome' end on Tuesday when Paine’s wife Bonnie posted a picture of herself and her children alongside the Indian wicketkeeper with a tongue-in-cheek caption “Best babysitter”.
The two nations will meet on January 3 in Sydney. India leads the series 2-1.