How Rishabh Pant Reacted to Compliments for His Acrobatic Skills

Rishabh Pant is a livewire on the field. Be it his batting, wicketkeeping or the running commentary from behind the wickets, Pant is always there. His athletic prowess often gets ignored, reckons former India strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu.

Speaking on YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia’s channel Beer Biceps, Basu called Pant an “extraordinary gymnast” and said that gymnastics can play a very crucial role in shaping the development of an athlete.

“I remember seeing Rishabh in Sri Lanka. He came to the Nidahas Trophy and before in the West Indies. In the Nidahas Trophy, I remember telling him that you know you’re an extraordinary gymnast. Please call your gymnastics coach and thank him for what you are doing now. He was like ‘What?’. He was flummoxed. He can do a kip-up, front flip, and backflip. You must have seen it on television. And he has got that explosive ability because of that,” Basu said.

Pant, who famously did a kip-up during India vs England Test series at home earlier this year, is often seen flaunting his gymnastic abilities on the field.

Citing examples of former Indian cricket Sridharan Sriram’s son, also name Rishab, Basu added that gymnastics can help a player takes his athletic ability to the next level.

“Gymnastics play a major role in the development as an athlete. Not all of them will get the opportunity to do that, but if you are able to from a very young age, nothing like it,” he said

Rishabh Pant who was rested for the ODI series against West Indies is back in the side for the five-match T20I series. The southpaw, however, failed to leave his mark and was dismissed for just 14 off 12 balls in the first match.

Pant played a crucial role in the ODI series triumph over England last month. Registering his maiden ODI ton, in the third and series decider ODI, the southpaw took home a victory. Stitching a crucial partnership with Hardik Pandya after the fall of early wickets, Pant scored 125 off 113 to help India chase England’s 259.

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