Ahead of his much awaited return to professional cricket, Rishabh Pant shared a light-hearted interaction with Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist on how he was working on his sledging before picking up the gloves again.

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Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire podcast which is hosted by Gilchrist and Vaughan, Pant was asked about his return in the upcoming IPL. The wicketkeeper-batter has spent over a year on the sidelines after suffering a serious car accident in December 2022, but will return for Delhi Capitals when the IPL gets underway in under two weeks’ time (March 22).

Asked by Gilchrist how he would look to put Vaughan off his game had the two played at the same time, Pant responded: “I would say you are focussing too much on social media instead of playing cricket.”

His reply brought laughs from the panel, including Vaughan. The former England captain is known for his high-profile presence on social media and has 1.6 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).

When asked the same question in reference to Gilchrist however, Pant had a much different retort.

“I think he’s [Gilchrist’s] anyways off when he was playing,” said Pant. “He’s in his own zone, you can’t disturb these kinds of people so there’s nothing much I can say to that.”

“I’m already slogging wildly, is that what you’re telling me?” Replied Gilchrist. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“That was the idea,” replied Pant.

Pant is known for vocal presence behind the stumps, with his jibes towards Tim Paine during India’s 2018/19 tour of Australia generating a huge response on social media.

Although it is yet to be announced whether Pant will keep wicket in the IPL this season, he is expected to make his return in Delhi Capitals’ first match of the season against Punjab Kings on March 23.

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