Commentators should improve if people prefer my stump-mic commentary, jokes Rishabh Pant
Along with his batting skills, Rishabh Pant is loved for his hilarious behind-the-stump chatter. The wicketkeeper-batsman opened up about his antics on Monday, quipping that broadcast commentators should try to "improve" if the audience relishes his words more.
Rishabh Pant's remarks came during the post-match presentation of the fourth India-England Test. Host Harsha Bhogle jokingly complained to Pant that commentators are being asked to keep quiet when the wicketkeeper is engaging with the players from behind the stumps.
Rishabh Pant almost took it as a compliment and replied:
“Ab sir yeh mera compliment hai ya thoda aapko problem ho raha hai toh aap improve karo [Sir, i don't know if it's a compliment for me or you all should improve a bit if you have a problem with it]."
Rishabh Pant was named the player of the match in the fourth Test. The 23-year-old scored a scintillating 101 off just 118 balls in the second innings to put India in the driver's seat.
Overall, he was India's second-highest run-scorer in the series with 270 runs at a fine average of 54.
Rishabh Pant's best moments behind the stumps in the India-England series
Rishabh Pant was at his chirpy-best throughout the four-Test series, constantly egging fielders to lift their body language through rib-tickling wordplay. Not to mention his Twitter-favorite 'come on Ash' catchphrase which was peppered throughout every England innings.
At one point, Rishabh Pant was caught quipping "Mera naam hai Washington; Mujhe jana hai DC (My name is Washington; I want to go DC)" to Washington Sundar, referring to the capital of the USA.
Other gems from Pant throughout the series included: "Ollie Pope ko lollipop do (Give a lollipop to Ollie Pope)", "Ball ghoomega toh ye jhoomega (When the ball spins, he struggles), and "Thoda sa aage, Milkha Singh bhaage."
We will see more of Rishabh Pant in the upcoming T20I series against Eoin Morgan's England, which is set to commence on March 12.