Tim Paine's classy act for Rishabh Pant after famous 'babysitter' comments during Test

Tim Paine has continued his support of former rival Rishabh Pant after sharing a clip of the Indian cricketer's comeback after a scary car accident in 2022. Pant was involved in a horrible accident in Roorkee when driving to his family home, which saw him undergo knee surgery.

The wicketkeeper-batter has been undergoing rehabilitation since April at the National Cricket Academy in Bengalaru as he slowly makes his way back to fitness. And for the first time, Pant gave fans a glimpse of his recovery as a video of the star batting and keeping behind the stumps emerged.

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The post was flooded with well wishes as fans get excited for a potential return. And one such fan was former Australian captain Paine. The former Australian captain reposted the footage and wrote: "Love this Rishabh Pant."

The duo share a funny relationship after Paine initially took a cheeky dig towards Pant. In 2019, during the second Test in Adelaide, then-captain Paine took a cheeky dig at Pant over MS Dhoni’s selection in India’s ODI squad.

Paine tried to get Pant to stick around in Australia and join the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash, along with some added requests. “… Extend your little Aussie holiday. Beautiful town Hobart too, I’ll get you a nice apartment on the waterfront. (I’ll) have him over for dinner. Can you babysit? I’ll take the wife to the movies one night and you’ll look after the kids,” Paine was heard saying on the stump mic.

Pant was quick to quip back that Paine was just a 'temporary captain'. Cricket fans loved the banter during the series. The Indian star then became an internet sensation when his picture with the Paine family was posted by Bonnie, along with the caption ‘Best babysitter’.

Ricky Ponting backs Rishabh Pant return

Pant has been filmed batting and wicket-keeping in his return from injury. And Ricky Ponting, coach of the Delhi Capitals, has suggested the team will try and nurture Pant back into the line-up when he is ready.

"We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope that he can be out there and play," Ponting said in January. "Even if it's not all the games, if we can manage him through 10 of the 14 games or whatever that might be, then whatever games you can get out of him will be a bonus.

"Rishabh is very confident that he's going to be right to play. In what capacity we're not quite sure yet. But I'll guarantee if I asked him now he'll say, 'I'm playing every game, I'm keeping every game and I'm batting at No.4.' That's just what he's like, but we'll keep our fingers crossed."

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