Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, ensured that the Australians knew precisely what they had to say about him and Steve Smith’s blockbuster ‘Virat Kohli’ remark.
Months before the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy, one modern great, Steve Smith, talking about the other, Virat Kohli, made everyone talk when he referred to the Indian batting superstar as the ‘most Australian’ of all Indians. One can understand where Smith comes from. Australia is not a land for the weak-hearted.
Their culture is such. Their ruthless upbringing aptly reflects in how Australia plays cricket: a no-holds-barred approach.
Over the years, several Indian batters have gotten under the skin of the Aussies through their performances –namely Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman –. Still, even they couldn’t match their intensity the way Kohli does. Always ready to give it back, sometimes even starting the fight.
That Kohli is an Australian can be taken as both a straight-faced and a backhanded compliment, but rest assured, there is a bit of truth to what Smith said.
However, just days later, Smith’s Aussie teammate Travis Head triggered a bit of an Australian U-turn when he named his version of an Indian with Australian traits, bestowing the crown on Rishabh Pant.
The Indian cricketer I think would be most Australian would be Rishabh Pant. “I feel how he goes about his aggressive nature and work ethic, which would make him very enjoyable to play with,” Head, who promises to be one of India’s biggest threats, said during an interaction with Star Sports.
Pant loved the gesture from the Australians and reacted to the clip with a fire emoji on Instagram.
After all, the Aussies know Pant well by now. He was the difference the last time India toured Australia in 2020/21 and beat them 2-1 with back-to-back impactful innings. He scored a pulverizing 97 in Sydney, allowing India to draw the Test, and then cracked an unbeaten 89 in Brisbane as India breached the fortress of Gabba.
The series prior, Pant thumped his Test second century and the first on Australian soil with a blistering 159 not out at the SCG.
