Former Indian strength and conditioning coach, Shankar Basu has stated that gymnastics must have played a huge role in shaping up the physical phenomenon that is Rishabh Pant, given his athleticism helps him to be explosive. The former coach urged aspiring cricketers to practice gymnastics as it can contribute to cricket significantly. Pant has established himself as a proven match-winner for India and the future of Indian cricket with a bunch of match-winning performances in adverse conditions.

While his contribution in the form of numbers is brilliant, Rishabh Pant often garners eyeballs for his dynamic style on the field, both when he is taking guard on the crease or keeping the wickets behind it. The youngster has often been seen playing unorthodox shots like balancing slogs on one foot. Apart from that, he has started collecting the ball behind the wickets. He has also been seen making stunning catches as was on display recently in the first ODI against England when his diving efforts made the highlight reels.

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Talking about the athleticism of Rishabh Pant, during a podcast on a Youtube channel, BeerBiceps, Shankar Basu said, “I remember seeing Rishabh in Sri Lanka. He came to the Nidahas Trophy and before in the West Indies. In the Nidahas Trophy, I remember telling him that you know you’re an extraordinary gymnast.”

He further added, ‘Please call your gymnastics coach and thank him for what you are doing now. He was like ‘What?’. He was flummoxed. He can do a kip-up, front flip, backflip. You must have seen it in television. And he has got that explosive ability because of that.”

When Virat Kohli became the captain of the team, he churned out exceptional athletes by focusing on having an extra physical edge and an intense physical regime. Shankar Basu believes gymnasts can play a huge role in spearheading this development, as he has experienced through the son of former cricketer and coach Sridharan Sriram, a veteran of eight ODI caps.

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Explaining the same, Shankar Basu said, “I think he has done a lot of gymnastics in his formative years. Same thing with Sridharan Sriram’s son. He wanted to start training. I said ‘Sriram, put him in gymnastics’, and apparently, he is playing very well now. Gymnastics play a major role in the development as an athlete. Not all of them will get the opportunity to do that, but if you are able to from a very young age, nothing like it.”