It was just a few days ago when the Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, in a very uncharacterized way, made a tweet related to Neeraj Chopra, who was set to compete in the men’s javelin throw final, looking to defend his Olympic Gold medal that he won during the previous edition of the game.
The day before the final, Rishabh Pant promised to pay INR 100089 to the user who liked his post the most and commented the most if Neeraj would go on to win the gold medal. Besides that, he also committed to offering flight tickets to ten users who would do the same.
“If Neeraj Chopra wins a gold medal tomorrow. I will pay 100089 Rupees to the lucky winner who likes the tweet and comments the most. And for the rest, the top 10 people trying to get the attention will get flight tickets. Let’s get support from India and outside the world for my brother.” The left-hander aggressive batter, Rishabh Pant expressed on his ‘X’ handle (formerly known as Twitter).
Shreevats Goswami slams Rishabh Pant for PR management
The former Bengal wicket-keeper batter Shreevats Goswami has slammed Rishabh Pant for this PR media stunt, as he showed his surprise toward the keeper’s tweet and advised him to get rid of his public relations (PR) team, who have been made responsible for trying to gather support for the javelin thrower.
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“I am confused. Yeh sab kya chal raha hai? Rishabh, you need to get rid of your PR mere bhai.” The former wicket-keeper batter remarked on his social media handle.
The 35-year-old left-handed batter has featured in 61 first-class games, having scored 3019 runs at an average of 32.46 and a strike rate of 50.72, celebrating 17 half-centuries and four centuries, having the best score of unbeaten 225 runs.
In 97 List-A games, the Kolkata-born cracked 3371 runs at an average of 37.45 and a strike rate of 72.55, thanks to his 18 fifties and eight centuries, with a best score of unbeaten knock of 149 runs. In the past, he was also part of many franchises in the Indian Premier League, carrying an average T20 record of 2437 runs at an average of 26.78 and a strike rate of 115.55, with 13 half-centuries.
Regarding the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra made his entry into the javelin throw final with his first attempt of 89.34-throw in the qualification round. However, he earned the Silver medal in the final thanks to his 89.45m throw, while Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem grabbed the Gold medal with the 92.97m throw.
On the flip side of the coin, Rishabh Pant didn’t enjoy his time in the final One-day international game of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. India needed to chase 249 runs to level the series after a tied opening game and a defeat in the second encounter.
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The batting line-up of the Blue Brigade failed again they found themselves at 101/8 from a position of 37/0. They lost eight wickets for a mere 71 runs to continue their struggle against the hosts’ spin attack.
Rishabh Pant couldn’t contribute as he made six runs in nine balls, thanks to a boundary, before being stumped out against Maheesh Theekshana. It will be interesting to see if the Rohit Sharma-led side retains him for the two tests against Bangladesh in the home season, having not featured in the format since December 2022 due to his fatal accident.