Australian cricket team all-rounder Mitchell Marsh said that he wishes India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant was ‘Australian’. In an interaction ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Test series, Marsh was all praise for Pant whom he called a ‘ripping bloke’ and described him as someone who ‘loves winning’. “He’s a ripping bloke. I wish he was Australian. He’s obviously been through a lot over the last few years, and it’s been a hell of a comeback. He’s a positive guy, still really young, and he loves winning. He’s highly competitive for someone who has the persona of being relaxed and always laughing and smiling. He’s got that big smile,” Marsh told Star Sports.

Marsh’s teammate Travis Head also had a similar view about Pant.

“The Indian cricketer I believe is most Australian would be Rishabh Pant. I think the way he goes about his aggressive nature and his work ethic would make him very enjoyable to play with,” he said.

Pant reacted to the video of the interview on Instagram with a series of emojis.

Earlier, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood said his team would be more focused on devising strategies to counter young Indian batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill during the Border-Gavaskar series, given that they have played very little cricket against them.

The five-Test Border-Gavaskar series is scheduled to commence in Perth on November 22 with India hoping to extend their dominance on the prestigious trophy. Australia, on the other hand, would be aiming to showcase their bowling might to win it back after successive losses at home in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Jaiswal and Gill have emerged as India’s top batters of late and would form the core of the batting lineup alongside captain Rohit Sharma and stalwart Virat Kohli.

Hazlewood, who is expected to be a key member of the Australian bowling unit as it aims to win back the trophy after 2014-15, said the hosts would focus on executing the basics to win the series, which would earn them crucial points in the current World Test Championship cycle.

“The strategy is probably more focused on the newer players we haven’t played much Test cricket against, like (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and even Shubman Gill, who we’ve only faced a few times,” Hazlewood told Star Sports.

(With PTI inputs)