“Neither Can I Do the Somersault Like Him…” – Former Wicketkeeper Praises Rishabh Pant’s Unique Celebration Style
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik joked in a video, saying that he cannot somersault nor bat like current India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. The 27-year-old Pant did a somersault celebration after scoring a century against England.
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Rishabh Pant won the hearts of cricket fans by scoring a century on the second day of the first Test match against England. With this innings, Pant went ahead of MS Dhoni in terms of scoring the most Test centuries as a wicketkeeper. He also made several other records.
Pant was in full rhythm and played shots freely, but in the end, he got out on a ball that disappointed everyone. Dinesh Karthik even questioned the strategy of coach Gautam Gambhir after Pant’s dismissal.
Pant was unbeaten on 65 runs at the end of the first day. On the second day, he turned it into a brilliant century. He celebrated the milestone with a somersault. Shortly after completing his century, he got out after scoring 134 runs.
Josh Tongue bowled a fast ball aimed at Pant’s feet. Pant tried to leave the ball, but failed. The ball hit his pad and the umpire gave him out. Pant spoke to Ravindra Jadeja for a while and then took DRS, but it didn’t help. The third umpire also declared him out.
Former cricketer Dinesh Karthik, while commentating on Sky Sports, criticized coach Gautam Gambhir for Rishabh Pant’s dismissal. Karthik said that Pant was asked to change his playing style after the dismissals of Shubman Gill and Karun Nair, and that this was a mistake. According to Karthik, this advice affected Pant’s natural game. Earlier, Pant was playing his shots freely, but after the message, his approach changed.
Dinesh Karthik said, “When you want to send a message to the batsman, timing is very important. A coach should know how to talk to certain players. The tone matters, and the right words can bring out the best in a batsman. Gambhir will need to take a different approach if he wants the best performance from Pant.”
After the match, a video shared by BCCI on their social media showed different experts and fans reacting to Pant’s somersault celebration after his century. Former wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who shared the dressing room with Pant during the England tour in 2018, said:
“Neither could I do the somersault like him, nor can I bat like him. I think on both fronts, he has gone beyond expectations. It’s quite an effort to do that, and he does it regularly.” He also added “When I was very young, my parents made me join gymnastics. I did try, but I was a complete failure at it. So let’s just leave it there, because he does it so much better when he celebrates.”
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