On Tuesday (22 January), the young Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been awarded the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018. Later, the International Cricket Council (ICC) came with an innovative style to share it as they also merged it with his babysitter story.
While Pant made his international cricket debut in 2017 through the T20I cricket, he made his Test and ODI debut in 2018.
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His first international game was the Bengaluru T20I against England on 1 February 2017. The wicketkeeper-batsman made his Test debut in last August during the Nottingham Test against England. Later, he made his ODI debut during the Guwahati ODI against Windies on 21 October 2018.
The 21-year-old wicketkeeper and left-handed batsman has played already nine Tests, three ODIs and 10 T20Is where he has scored 696 runs (average 49.71), 41 runs (average 20.50) and 157 runs (average 19.62) respectively.
While Pant has one half-century in T20I, he has already played two century and two nervous-ninety knocks in the Test career. At the end of the last year, Pant was in the news for a long time for his wicketkeeping, batting and sledging.
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During the four-match Test series against the hosts Australia between last December and early this month, Pant had some remarkable performances as a batsman and wicketkeeper but he was mostly in the news for his entertaining on-field banters.
During the Melbourne Test that was played on the 2018 Boxing Day occasion, the Australian Test skipper and wicketkeeper Tim Paine had banter with Pant. When Pant was batting in the second innings, Paine asked him to be a babysitter and invited him for a dinner.
Paine said, “I tell you what, big MS (Dhoni) is back in the One-Day squad, we might get (Pant) down to the Hurricanes, this bloke. We need a batter. Fancy that, surely, extend your little Aussie holiday, beautiful town, Hobart, too. Get you a nice apartment on the waterfront. Have you over for dinner you Babysit? I’ll take the wife to the movies one night and you’ll look after the kids?”
After that Test was over that the visiting side India won by 137 runs, Pant met with Tim Paine’s wife Bonnie Paine and their two children. Bonnie shared a picture of that meeting where Pant can be seen holding a kid while Bonnie was holding the other one and wrote on it “Best babysitter @rishabpant”.
Also, ICC shared that same picture and wrote on it, “Tim Paine to @RishabPant777 at Boxing Day Test: “You babysit? I’ll take the wife to the movies one night, you’ll look after the kids?” *Challenge accepted!* (Mrs Bonnie Paine)”.
The entire cricket world, including Tim Paine, appreciated gladly that how Pant took that incident.
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Now, on the special occasion, as Pant won the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018, ICC remembered that babysitter incident once again through their official Twitter account.
Congratulations to @RishabPant777, the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018! 🇮🇳
He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England, and equalled the record for the most catches taken in a Test, with 11 in Adelaide in December.#ICCAwards 🏆 pic.twitter.com/s5yQBuwWlv
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019
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This time they posted a sweet sketched picture of the Paine family along with Pant and wrote on it, “Champion babysitter and champion cricketer. @RishabPant777 is the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018!ICCAwards”
Champion babysitter and champion cricketer.
@RishabPant777 is the ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2018!#ICCAwards🏆 pic.twitter.com/xrVuyNjao0
— ICC (@ICC) January 22, 2019