The Australian cricket team players picked the India star ‘who sledges the most’ and it was not Virat Kohli. Over the years, the matches between India and Australia have witnessed a number of heated moments with players from both sides having instances of on-field aggression. In a video released by Star Sports on social media, the Australian players (Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne) unanimously agreed that Rishabh Pant has been the player who sledges the most in the current Indian cricket team.
In the same video, Pant recalled his sledging battles with Tim Paine during the 2018 series and revealed the then Australian Prime Minister recognised him through his sledging.
“Main (sledging) pyaar se karta hu!”
Never change, @RishabhPant17Once again, wishing you a Pant-astic year ahead!
See him soon in the #ToughestRivalry! #AUSvINDOnStar, starts NOV 22! pic.twitter.com/TIbRLQoTH3
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) October 4, 2024
“Nobody plans and do it. But I don’t like it when someone does it, so I sledge politely. They were saying things like ‘Big MS is here, ‘Come and play T20 cricket in Hobart, you’ll get a good apartment, babysit my kids’. I also said a few things,” said Pant.
Meanwhile, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is back at the summit of the ICC Test bowling rankings following his match haul of six wickets in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur.
The 30-year-old replaced his India team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin – Player of the Series against Bangladesh – at the top of the chart.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja maintained his sixth place, while fellow spinner Kuldeep Yadav stayed in 16th.
In batting, Player of the Match from the Kanpur Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal, moved to a career-high third position after just 11 Tests. Jaiswal played scintillating knocks of 72 and 51 and helped India win the rain-marred match by seven wickets.
With 792 rating points, the 22-year-old is behind second-placed Kane Williamson (829) and Joe Root (899).
Also, veteran Indian batter Virat Kohli is back in the top 10, gaining six places to rise to the sixth position after knocks of 47 and 29 in Kanpur.
Rishabh Pant, too, remained in the top 10, dropping three spots to ninth, with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill on 15th and 16th, respectively.
(With PTI inputs)