Australian skipper Pat Cummins feels it will be imperative for them to keep Rishabh Pant quiet in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar trophy. Pant has a fantastic record while playing against Australia in Australia and he has played a key role in India’s success in the last two tours.

The left-hander scored 350 runs in four Test matches on the 2018-19 tour at an average of 58.33 against Australia, including 159 at the SCG. Subsequently, the southpaw scored 274 runs in three matches on the 2020-21 tour, including a match-winning unbeaten knock of 89 runs at the Gabba.

Pant has scored 624 runs in seven Test matches in Australia at an average of 62.40 and he will look to continue his love affair against Australia in the upcoming tour.

Pat Cummins said on Star Sports, “Look, I think every team has one or two of those players who can take the game on. We have Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. I think with those guys, you know they’re going to be aggressive. You miss your area a little bit and they can take the game on. Someone like Rishabh Pant might play a reverse lap and it’s an incredible shot.

“That’s just a part of who he is. We’ve become accustomed to it nowadays because some of those ridiculous shots are a bit more common. He is someone who has had a big influence on a couple of series. Got to try to keep him quiet.”

Meanwhile, Pant returned with scores of 39 and 109 runs in the opening Test match against Bangladesh at Chennai when he made a comeback to Test cricket after a long hiatus of 629 days.

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.