Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has revealed that he was planning to do a backstand after Rishabh Pant rejected to do the somersault celebration after scoring his second century of the Headingley Test on Tuesday (May 24). Speaking on the broadcast after the day鈥檚 play, Gavaskar, 75, said that he used to do backstands when he was younger and was willing to show it to the world even at his age but 鈥榳asn鈥檛 able to鈥.
Pant did the somersault after scoring his century in the first innings of the Test. When he got to his second in the third innings 鈥 becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to hit twin tons in a Test 鈥 Gavaskar was standing at the media balcony gesturing him to do it again. But Pant, perhaps tired or in pain, rejected and gestured that he鈥檇 do it later, before proceeding with a different celebration instead.
鈥淵ou know what, I鈥檝e got to confess that after that I came here and I, and I tried not to do the backflip, no chance of, at my age, but I used to do the backstand and I was looking to do the backstand,鈥 Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network. 鈥淪o if I could do it successfully then, then I would have shown it here, but I wasn鈥檛 able to,鈥 he added.
Gavaskar, who has shared a love-hate relationship with Pant, said he was 鈥榲ery happy鈥 to see the wicketkeeper back up on his feet and giving joy to his family after his car crash two years ago.
鈥淰ery, very happy. I mean, anytime an Indian does well, you feel very happy because you know the passion for cricket in India, how just about every, in every family, I鈥檓 sure there is at least one person who, it might not be everybody, at least one person who follows the game. And therefore to make that family happy, if you can do well, if India does well, then naturally it is, it鈥檚 a great feeling. And so to see this young kid, come back, I mean, look what had happened to him with all those, with that crash,鈥 he added.