Home
India star Rishabh Pant recalled his old cricketing days after India's Champions Trophy 2025 winning team. Pant, who is known for his unorthodox playing style and effortless six-hitting skills, was forced to learn defensive play during his early cricketing days by his then coach Tarak Sinha.
Pant was a part of India's Champions Trophy 2025 squad but he didn't get a chance to feature for the team as management picked KL Rahul over him for keeping wickets in Dubai.
Sharing an anecdote of his cricketing journey, Pant revealed how his coach used to react to his aggressive batting style in the nets.
"When I started playing after moving from Roorkee, I mostly played lofted shots - almost 80% of the time. I didn’t think about playing along the ground because I used to open the innings. My father always said that playing against your age group is normal, but if you want to improve in cricket, you must compete with older players. So, from a young age, he pushed me to participate in senior tournaments. Even when I was 10 or 11, I played in open tournaments," Pant said on JioHotstar.
"When I joined Tarak sir, he used to get really angry. He had one rule - ‘You must learn defense first. If you master defense, you’ll master everything else.’ He believed I already knew how to hit big shots, so he wanted me to learn how to defend. I used to keep an eye on him while batting. If he was watching, I’d play proper defense, playing drives and textbook shots. But the moment I saw him looking away, I would go back to playing my natural attacking game," he added.
Speaking on his flexibility and acrobatic body type, Pant credited his agility to gymnastics which he used to practice as a kid.
"I used to do gymnastics as a kid. My gymnastics coach always told me that it would come in handy in life. Basu Sir, our Indian team trainer, once told me in 2018-19, ‘Thank you to your gymnastics coach because what he taught you in childhood is still benefiting you today.’ I kept practicing hand springs, and it has played a huge role in my fitness for sure," he said.
Pant is currently busy with his family for her sister's wedding and after that, the star wicketkeeper will join Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) camp and they will start their campaign against Delhi Capitals.
