Gautam Gambhir bans Rishabh Pant from..

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who is known for his bold shots and fiery celebrations, stunned fans at Headingley not just with his second century of the match but by not performing his famous somersault against England.

The crowd was waiting, and even cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar kept pushing Rishabh Pant on-air to do it. But the Indian vice-captain stood firm, waved to the crowd, and smiled, opting for a new gesture pointing toward his eye instead of a somersault celebration.

Rishabh Pant skips Somersault celebration after Gautam Gambhir’s strict warning

According to sources close to the India national cricket team, it was none other than head coach Gautam Gambhir who advised Pant against his famous somersault celebration.

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Gambhir, known for his no-nonsense approach, reportedly told Rishabh Pant to avoid any risky moves, especially something as unpredictable as a backflip that could cause a freak injury.

“Someone from the team told him not to do the somersault; otherwise, he was ready with it,” a source revealed to CricBlogger. The source noted that it would have only been Gambhir who could do that. He added, “Who else would dare?”

Before Gautam Gambhir, Kapil Dev raised injury fears due to his Somersault celebration

Notably, Pant had already planned a somersault celebration for his second century in the first Test against England, but Gambhir was against it, as he didn’t want to take any risk, considering his comeback after two years following a horrific car accident.

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Even when Gavaskar urged the left-handed batter live from the commentary box to go ahead with the flip, Pant was seen mouthing, “Not now, later.” Interestingly, Gambhir isn’t the only one who had concerns. Kapil Dev, the legendary 1983 World Cup-winning captain, had also criticized the Indian vice-captain’s somersault celebration.

The legendary Indian all-rounder believed that the celebrations should never come at the cost of injury and had urged Pant to be more careful, as any wrong move could have cost him and India dearly, given how he recovered from multiple surgeries after the accident.

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Michael Vaughan surprised by Rishabh Pant’s new celebration, Sunil Gavaskar calls it spritual signal

During commentary at Leeds, former England captain Michael Vaughan couldn’t hide his curiosity about Rishabh Pant’s new winking-eye celebration. He expected his trademark somersault, maybe even something more dramatic, but was surprised when Pant opted for a new, cheeky celebration.

Vaughan had said on-air, “Can you explain what that celebration is? Do you know what that is? I was waiting for that flip as well. I was rather disappointed on commentary when he didn't produce a double flip. Knowing Rishabh, he's always going to try to improve his celebrations, but I guess your celebration is probably taking this bit.”

However, Sunil Gavaskar later clarified that Pant may be pointing towards the sky and touching near his eye, likely a sign of thanking the god. Gavaskar said at the commentary box, “No, this is, I think that's basically thanking the gods above. He had something on his eye. He kind of put us on the signal.”

Now, Pant will be next seen in action in Birmingham, where India and England will lock horns against each other in the second Test of the five-match Test series.

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