"You’ve got to zip it"- Mark Waugh & Shane Warne urge Rishabh Pant to cut down on sledging
Rishabh Pant was the center of attraction again with his constant chatter from behind the stumps in the Gabba Test against Australia. But Mark Waugh and Shane Warne felt the Indian wicketkeeper needs to "zip it" especially when the bowler is coming in to bowl.
Rishabh Pant has had multiple verbal duels with Matthew Wade in the ongoing Test series. The two traded barbs once again during a Washington Sundar over in Brisbane.
The Australian wicketkeeper-batsman halted proceeding before Sundar came in to bowl after Pant's chatter distracted him. Mark Waugh, commentating on the Test series for Fox Cricket, wasn't pleased with Pant's antics behind the stumps and said:
"I don‘t have a problem with the keeper talking but not when the bowler is about to bowl. You’ve got to zip it then."
Shane Warne shared similar sentiments and said:
"I‘m a bit with you Jun (Junior), I don’t mind the encouraging and Rishabh Pant has a smile on his face, he’s having a laugh with his teammates around the bat. But if the bowler is starting to come in, that’s the time to just zip it and let the batsman concentrate."
Mark Waugh added that the umpires need to take control of the situation.
"I think the umpire has got to take some control in these situations; It‘s out of the players' hands, the umpires have got to control the game out there. If it starts getting too much or it’s holding up play you’ve got to get the standards right out there if you’re umpiring.” added Waugh.
Wade hit a cracking boundary off Washington Sundar off the next ball. Shane Warne then urged the southpaw to let his bat do the talking.
Rishabh Pant and his love for banter
This is not the first time that Rishabh Pant and Matthew Wade have been involved in a verbal duel this series. During the second Test, a similar incident took place when the Australian quipped:
“You’re 25 kilos overweight. Are you 20 kilos, 25 or 30 kilos overweight? You’re looking at yourself on the big screen again? Very funny, watching yourself on the screen.”
Rishabh Pant has made quite a name for himself in the past few years with his constant chirping from behind the stumps.
During India's last tour Down Under, the Indian wicketkeeper took the friendly 'babysitter' banter with Tim Paine to another level.