Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden had a befitting reply to former Virender Sehwag's recent television commercial regarding the upcoming limited-overs series between India and Australia at home.
In the commercial, Sehwag can be seen babysitting infants wearing the Australian team jersey. The commercial is an extension of the ‘babysitting’ row that transpired between Rishabh Pant and Australian skipper Tim Paine during the India-Australia Test series in December last year.
Sehwag says in the commercial, "Jab hum Australia gaye the, toh unhone poocha tha babysitting karoge? Humne kahaa sabke sab aajaao. Zaroor karenge (When we went to Australia we were asked if we would like to babysit? And we replied, why not and invited entire Australia to come)."
Hayden was quick to react to the commercial.
“#BeWarned Never take Aussie’s for a joke Viru Boy @virendersehwag @StarSportsIndia Just remember who’s babysitting the #WorldCup trophy.”Matthew Hayden’s tweet
The Babysitting Episode
The babysitting episode took place during the third Test between India and Australia in Melbourne when Pant had come out to bat. Wicketkeeper Tim Paine prompted from behind the stumps saying: "Do you babysit? I can take my wife to the movies while you watch the kids."
Pant, who had started the banter during the Australian batting while Paine was at crease, wasn’t the one to keep quiet. Later when Paine came out to bat Pant poked fun at him by calling the Aussie a "temporary captain".
However, being true gentleman both Paine and Pant forgot the episode once the match got over.
During the New Year’s Day, Paine's wife Bonnie even posted a picture of Pant with her kids on social media, which became viral instantly. The Bharat Army even came up with a song on babysitting which they sang during the fourth Test.
Even ICC made a reference to the whole ‘babysitting’ row. The post they shared on Pant after he won the Emerging Cricketer of the Year award had a mention of it.
The limited-overs series between the two teams will begin on February 24 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The second T20I will be played on February 27 at the YS Rajashekhar Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Meanwhile, the five-match ODI series will begin on March 2.
This will be India’s last series before the 2019 World Cup in England in May.
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