Team India’s wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant shared that he had been trained in gymnastics since his school days, which explains his somersault celebration after reaching his century on Day 2 of the first Test against England in Leeds.
The 27-year-old had gone without a hundred in his last nine Test matches before smashing a superb 134 in the first innings of the ongoing series opener. Pant reached his century in style by hitting a six off England’s off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.
He then celebrated with a somersault, just like he did during his last IPL 2025 match for Lucknow Super Giants. Speaking to Sony Sports ahead of Day 3, Pant explained the reason behind the celebration (as reported by India Today):
“I had three celebrations in mind. One of them was ‘let the bat do the talking’. Then I thought, I’ll stick with mine. I’ve been doing it since childhood (the somersault). I trained in gymnastics during school. In school, I did gymnastics.”
”I’m very used to it. Even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I can do a somersault. After the accident, I had to work even harder at it. But I put in the work, and now it’s easy for me again.”
Rishabh Pant Opens Up On Aggressive Approach To Reach Century With A Six
Rishabh Pant shared that he had informed Shoaib Bashir of his plan to go for a six if the fielders remained inside the circle on Day 2 of the Leeds Test. Just one run short of his hundred, the left-hander confidently stepped out and smashed a one-handed six over deep midwicket to bring up his century in style.
“When Bashir was bowling the previous over, I thought I should get to the hundred then and there. I didn’t want to play percentage cricket and take a risk—he bowled well, so I respected it and took a single.”
“In the next over, when he came back, I told him, ‘If you keep the field close-in, I’ll go for the big shot.’ Luckily, I was on 99. I was confident, but I still wanted to play the ball on merit,” said Pant (via the aforementioned source).
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
