Pant looms as India x-factor in third Test

Rishabh Pant's incessant chirping has kept him in the headlines but the wicketkeeper's batting is what could prove decisive in the second half of the Domain four-Test series between Australia and India.

Pant, when he gets going, is like few batsmen in the world and very much capable of shifting momentum in a single session.

The 21-year-old has scored 119 runs at 29.75 in the ongoing series, locked at 1-1, but is likely to enjoy far more batting-friendly conditions in Tests at the MCG and SCG.

It means India's trump card could be handed more of a licence to thrill, something he relished during a boundary-laden maiden Test ton in England that gave India hope of completing a record-breaking chase of 464.

Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins are among the Australians to have seen Pant in full flight, having shared a dressing room with him at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi.

Pant finished second on this year's list of IPL run-scorers, scoring 684 runs.

"He's an amazing talent. We have only seen him scratch the surface in terms of his ability," Melbourne Stars skipper Maxwell told reporters.

"I've been glued to my TV every time he's come out to bat ... if he does get going, it's pretty good to watch.

"He's extremely talented ... he played some extraordinary innings for us over there. He got an amazing hundred, where he just kept reserve-scooping balls with a straight bat, over third man for six.

"I think he was a gymnast growing up, so he's extremely flexible. He can manipulate his body into different positions to hit the ball."

Those keeping a close eye on India's training sessions are likely to see Pant showcase his talent by performing some impressive flips and acrobatic stunts.

Pant snared 11 catches in Adelaide but the record-breaking feat didn't attract anywhere near as much attention as his non-stop encouragement of India's bowlers and unsolicited advice to Cummins, which was all picked up by stump microphones.

Pant also targeted the ears of Maxwell in last month's Twenty20 series.

"He speaks a fair amount of dross," Maxwell grinned.

"Having spent the whole IPL with him, I certainly learned that first hand .. I used to hear it all the time in the change rooms, at training. It was pretty non stop.

"We we were pretty close during the IPL, which was nice."

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: India won by 31 runs

Dec 14-18: Australia won by 146 runs

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Archie Schiller

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar