Rishabh Pant punishes himself after MCG blunder, uninstalls WhatsApp and switches off his phone following 'stupid, stupid, stupid' rant
Rishabh Pant has once again become the talk of the town after remarkable twin centuries in the Headingley Test against England. The 27-year-old batter is the second wicketkeeper in the history of the game to score centuries in both innings of a Test match. However, the picture turned around after a few months during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, when Pant had an unusually poor performance that left him deeply disappointed and self-critical.
Pant recorded scores of 134 and 118, but this effort of the Indian vice-captain went in vain as England went down to chase 371 to gain a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Pant, who is also known for his aggressive approach with the bat, managed to score only 6 sixes in just 24 hours in the entire series, which India lost 1-3.
On the other hand, Pant's outing at just 255 runs in five Tests at an average of 28.33 left him disappointed.
God gave Rishabh Pant 2nd birth to live these moments, forever grateful ❤️pic.twitter.com/qX1RyCDkA7
Rishabh Pant was criticised by former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar
According to ToI, Rishabh felt the need for change in ways after the Melbourne Test, where he was analysed for playing irresponsible shots in both innings.
Moreover, during his first-innings dismissal, where he tried to play a falling ramp shot, he was criticised by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar. Amid all this, Pant's rant of 'stupid, stupid, stupid' quickly grabbed the attention of netizens and went viral.
While Pant was on the bench in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy, he did not play a single match of the eight-team tournament that India won by defeating New Zealand in the final.
Rishabh Pant punishes himself, uninstalls WhatsApp, and turns off his phone
As per ToI, following this, Pant decided to uninstall WhatsApp in March 2025. Not only that, but he also turned off his phone and only switched it on when he needed to contact someone. However, this is the first time that Pant has punished himself. Prior to this, Sohum Desai, India's former strength and conditioning coach, revealed that Pant had put himself through a punishing routine to work on his fitness.
According to him, Pant, the left-hander, did the hard work even when he warmed the bench in the ICC Men's Champions Trophy. Desai went on to quote in ToI, "He did the most intense sessions day in and day out. He dragged me into the gym whenever he was free. He didn't care about fatigue or work-loaded programmes. All he said was he needed to keep working on himself."
"On the day of the final, he came to me with some kind of guilt in his mind and asked if he could take the day off. I said it was high time that he did," he added.
Pant has such a strong foundation that he can maintain his form for at least a year without needing to do anything exceptional. That's why, even after scoring two centuries and keeping wickets for an extended period in the Headingley Test, he still looked so agile and energetic, said Desai.
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