A move by Team India’s new wicket-keeper and batsman Rishabh Pant to dance, and also involve Cheteshwar Pujara in the act, did not surprise either his mother or his coach. Tarik Sinha, Rishabh’s childhood coach admits, “Whenever he is overjoyed, he does something different. His recent sledging in Australia too was not a surprise to me,” he quipped.
A junior member of the squad, 21-year-old Pant danced with the other team members after Monday’s historic series win over Australia. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle over telephone from Hardwar, his mother Saroj Pant said, “Rishabh is a mischievous boy. He always comes out with different innovative ideas to express his joy.”
Saroj, who runs a school, however, did not take kindly to her son being called a baby sitter. “It was funny to
see my son holding (Australian captain) Tim Paine’s children in his arms. We really laughed at the photo but I was not impressed with the baby-sitting word attached to him,” she said. “I was not a working woman when Rishabh was born. I had not even kept a maid servant at home. I started the school at my home and I am still a teacher to the boys, not a baby-sitter!”
Conceding that Rishabh liked children, Saroj said, “Whenever he is at home, he likes to play with children. He sometimes takes them for a bicycle ride. I miss my husband Rajendra, who died young. The responsibility of raising my children came on my shoulders. Both Risabh and my daughter Sakshi have grown up now. We all lived in one room!”
“Rishabh always told me not to worry about anything, and I am proud of him,” his mother concluded.
