Top 10 mischievous avatars of Rishabh Pant
Team India’s young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is known as a maverick on the cricket field. Behind the stumps, he provides plenty of doses of laughter with his ‘commentary’ on the match. His tussle with Australian Test captain Tim Paine during the 2018-19 series has become the stuff of legend.
With the bat, Rishabh Pant can pull off the most audacious-looking strokes with stunning ease - be it reverse-sweeping England legend James Anderson in a Test match or repeating the feat against the pacy Jofra Archer in a T20I.
The left-hander's popularity has increased by leaps and bounds over the last few months following his heroics with the bat Down Under and his subsequent success at home against England.
Rishabh Pant: A maverick on and off the field
While he has won a lot of fans with his on-field performances, Rishabh Pant's off-field antics - mischievous and child-like - have also contributed to his growing admirers.
On that note, let's take a look at the naughty side of Rishabh Pant, mostly from beyond the boundary line.
#1 Rishabh Pant - The weight lifter
While Rishabh Pant and the Indian squad were quarantining in a five-star hotel in Mumbai ahead of the ongoing England tour, the wicketkeeper-batsman pleasantly surprised fans with his lifting prowess.
During a gym session, not only did Rishabh Pant lift the team’s performance analyst Hari Prasad Mohan, he even swivelled around while holding the analyst, all without ever looking like he would drop Mohan.
The cricketer shared the clip on his Instagram story with the caption:
“Hahahahah @hariprasadmohan.”
#2 Screaming competition with Ziva Dhoni
It’s no secret that former India captain MS Dhoni is Rishabh Pant’s role model. Earlier this year, when Delhi Capitals faced Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, the 23-year-old admitted that it was a special feeling to walk out for the toss with his ‘go-to man’.
Rishabh Pant shares an endearing bond with Dhoni’s daughter Ziva as well. The screaming competition between the two captures their innocent chemistry to the hilt.
#3 Doing a tummy check on Rohit Sharma
While Rishabh Pant gives respect to the seniors in the team, he seems to share an affable relationship with most of them.
In fact, the bonding among the current Team India players is great to watch from the outside. In this picture, Rishabh Pant seems to be pointing towards Rohit Sharma’s tummy, hinting that the latter needs to shed some extra fat. The offbeat cricketer shared the image on the latter’s birthday with a cheeky wish. He wrote:
“Happy birthday bhaiya jii @rohitsharma45 ! Hope you have a year filled with runs, except against @delhicapitals.”
#4 Rishabh Pant - the boxing star
As evident by now, Rishabh Pant doesn’t mind having some entertainment during training.
During one such session in the gym, Team India’s trainer Nick Webber found out how naughty the Delhi batsman could get. Webber was having an intense 'boxing' session with the guys.
While he was working out with Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant held Webber from behind and a few Indian cricketers, including the wicketkeeper-batsman, started landing punches on the trainer, all in good fun.
The 23-year-old later shared the video with an equally funny caption:
“This what happens when @nick.webby makes you workout too much.”