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Why did Rishabh Pant avoid doing a somersault after scoring his second hundred against England in the same Test at Leeds? Sources told CricBlogger that Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir may have advised him against it — in order to avoid the risk of a freak injury.
Although no member of the team was available for an official comment, it is understood that Gambhir made it a point to caution Pant directly. He advised the wicketkeeper-batter to refrain from extravagant celebrations that could potentially jeopardize his place in the playing XI.
“Someone from the team told him not to do the somersault, otherwise, he was ready with it,” the source said and added that it would have only been Gambhir who could do that. Who else?
The instruction not to do a somersault was so clear that Pant declined to do the act even after former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar kept telling him to perform it but Pant said in as many words not now later.
In fact, even former Indian captain Kapil Dev wasn’t amused by Pant’s somersault celebration. Much like Gambhir, Kapil had earlier expressed a word of caution, warning that such antics could lead to unnecessary injuries and advising Pant to celebrate with restraint.
Interesting!