The cricketer who arguably gets the fans’ adrenaline rushing the most these days is Rishabh Pant, who has completed a remarkable recovery to make his comeback to international cricket on the same note where he paused after a forced break due to a horrific car accident in December 2022.
Following a rehabilitation period of over a year, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Pant returned to competitive cricket with the Indian Premier League earlier this year and then went on to play a role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph.Last week, in the first Test against Bangladesh, he marked his return to the traditional red-ball format with a brilliant century.
Pant’s resilience, grit, determination, talent, energy and aggressive approach to cricket has made Australia‘s T20I captain Mitchell Marsh make a wishful desire.
“He’s a ripping bloke. I wish he was Australian” said Marsh with a smile in a Star Sports video where he and opening batsman Travis Head were asked which Indian cricketer they believe is the most Australian.
“He’s obviously been through a lot in the last few years. Hell of a comeback. He’s a positive guy, still very young. He loves winning, he’s highly competitive for someone who, I guess, has a persona of being relaxed and always laughing. He’s got that big smile,” Marsh added.
Pant hit a stroke-filled 109 in the second innings of the Chennai Test, which India won by 280 runs. He added 167 runs in his partnership with fellow centurion and India opener Shubman Gill, who scored 119 not out.
Head, who hit a title-winning century in the ODI World Cup final against India last year, couldn’t agree more with Marsh.
“The Indian cricketer I believe is the most Australian is Rishabh Pant,” said Head. “His aggressive nature, the way he goes about his work, he would be very enjoyable to play with.”
India and Australia will face off in a five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy towards the end of this year, where Pant will get a chance to repeat his Gabba heroics of India’s 2020-21 tour Down Under.