3 alternate professions for Rishabh Pant
Ever since making a splash at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2016, Rishabh Pant has always been touted for special things in Indian cricket. True to the hype, the dashing southpaw has lived up to every bit of it over time.
His slam-bang approach with the bat is archetypal to the demands of the T20 format. Yet, with multiple innings of impact in the longest format of the game, the Delhi lad has established himself as a first-choice player across formats. In fact, he's had the most success in Test cricket and his ever-improving wicketkeeping skills point towards greatness in the making.
Pant has earned a cult fan following by virtue of his unorthodox strokeplay and amusing banter from behind the stumps. He's quite easily one of a kind and a cameraman's delight in every true sense. He sure would have been a big miss for the sport had he treaded a different path.
Rishabh Pant leads the scoring charts for India in 2022 🔥🇮🇳
#India #TeamIndia #CricketTwitter https://t.co/IhGqUUMByX
On that note, we ponder three alternate professions for the talismanic wicketkeeper-batter had he not chosen the sport of cricket.
#1 Babysitter
Tim Paine to @RishabPant777 at Boxing Day Test: "You babysit? I'll take the wife to the movies one night, you'll look after the kids?"
*Challenge accepted!* 👶
(📸 Mrs Bonnie Paine) https://t.co/QkMg4DCyDT
This is a throwback to the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Boxing Day Test saw then-Australian skipper Tim Paine indulge in some banter with Pant, asking if the latter would babysit his kids given that the southpaw wasn't likely to be picked for the ODI series to follow.
Soon after, a picture of Pant with Paine's kids, posted by the latter's wife Bonnie, did the rounds on the internet. While it won the hearts of millions of fans, it gave a glimpse into the humorous side of the Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper.
He has often been spotted having fun with the kids in the Indian dressing room, be it MS Dhoni's daughter Ziva or Rohit Sharma's daughter Samaira. He sure is a favorite among the tiny tots and given how he brings a smile to their faces, he ought to make a wonderful babysitter.
#2 Gymnast
Pant had a thing for stunts and somersaults growing up, performing them at will. In fact, former Indian strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu assumed the wicketkeeper to have had a personal gymnastics coach given how good he was at it.
There have been numerous instances of the Delhi dasher displaying the same on the cricket field as well. So much so that right from his debut Test series in England in 2018, he seemed adept at collecting the ball when it took off with extra bounce and carry. Very often, he has followed a tumbling dive with a kip-up that he would execute with seamless ease.
Tough to deny that he'd make a pretty good gymnast now, isn't it?
#3 Vlogger
A peek into his live session on Instagram last week was a good indicator of how good Pant is at engaging the audience. His humourous quips from behind the stumps add to his charm and he ought to make a pretty good vlogger on that front.
Dressing room secrets, build-ups to key matches and friendly banter with his teammates - oh how much we'd love to see that and some! Of course, the DC skipper can take a cue out of national teammate Ravichandran Ashwin and probably venture into that line. Given his natural ability to entertain his fans, he's bound to become an instant hit.
Also read: 3 memorable interactions between Rishabh Pant and his fans