Rishabh Pant opens up on banter with Matthew Wade

India wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant found himself in the middle of an on-field banter with an Australian once again. It was Matthew Wade this time, but Pant recently revealed that he refrained from reacting too much since the Aussie opener was seeking concentration out of it.

While Rishabh Pant was a chatterbox throughout the Boxing Day Test, with his “Keep bowling there, Ash” comments, the stump mic caught Matthew Wade commenting on Pant’s weight as the Delhi lad appeared on the big screen.

“You’re 25 kilos overweight. Are you 20 kilos, 25 kilos or 30 kilos overweight? You’re looking at yourself on the big screen again? Very funny watching yourself on the screen,” Wade told Rishabh Pant during the 16th over of Australia’s second innings on Day 3.

Pant opined that he didn’t want to participate in the banter Wade tried to coax him into, and added that he enjoyed every bit of it.

“I enjoyed every bit of that, but I think Wade was probably looking for some sort of discussion or banter so that he could concentrate more, but I didn’t want to give that to him,” Rishabh Pant was quoted as saying by Times Now.

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It is good to be back in the side: Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant was caught behind chasing a short, wide delivery off Mitchell Starc

After warming the bench in the first Test in Adelaide, Rishabh Pant replaced Wriddhiman Saha in the playing XI for the second rubber.

Saha is the preferred choice in home conditions because of his ability to stand up to spinners. But Pant generally gets a nod on overseas tours because of his relative ease in wicket-keeping to bouncing deliveries.

Rishabh Pant himself acknowledged he is still a work in progress, saying he is working on his footwork while wicket-keeping to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm orthodox Ravindra Jadeja.

“I have been training well, practising well but not getting a chance in the first Test is a part and parcel of the game. It is good to be back in the side and will try to do well for the team.

“Keeping in Australia has been good so far, and I am working on opening my right and left leg to adjust to the bounce. They key is to give yourself a little more space against Ashwin and Jadeja,” Pant, who scored 29 off 40 balls in the first innings, explained.

After a humiliating defeat in Adelaide, the Ajinkya Rahane-led side bounced back in style to beat the hosts by 8 wickets, inside four days, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It helped to draw level the series 1-1. It was India’s fourth win at the MCG — their most at any away venue.