In Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya, a band of dacoits traveling through the Chambal ravines stumbles upon a dead snake. Fearing the local superstition that passing a dead snake brings a curse, the gang hesitates. But their leader, Man Singh (played by Manoj Bajpayee), lifts the carcass with his gun and moves it aside.
“Mai ka naam le ke aage badho,” he says-invoke the goddess and keep moving.
Lakhna-Sushant Singh Rajput, in a tragic role with eerie foresight-reminds Man Singh that a dead snake’s curse should not be taken lightly.
“The curse won’t vanish just by altering our route,” Man Singh replies with a rueful smile.
Fate. Destiny. Inevitability. There’s a phrase for this tragic dance coined by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: Amor Fati-love your fate, embrace it.
Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant’s life embodies this dance of destiny. His life is a vivid reminder that sometimes the only option is to accept fate with resilience.
Rishabh Pant and the Stalker
On the first day of the fourth India-England Test, Pant suffered yet another injury. Attempting an audacious reverse sweep off Chris Woakes, he was struck on the ankle. His foot quickly swelled and reddened, and he had to be driven off the field. Experts now fear the injury may be serious, with Ricky Ponting suggesting Pant could have a broken metatarsal-a bone in the foot.
Bad luck and injuries seem to pursue Pant like a relentless stalker. A Greek parable tells of a man who, warned of tragedy, escapes to a distant island, only to meet a hooded figure awaiting his arrival-his fate. This story could easily describe Pant’s turbulent summer.
He began the series brightly, playing with trademark flair and risk-taking bravado, but in the third Test, ran himself out to help KL Rahul reach a century. Earlier, a ball had thudded into his left hand, making batting in the second innings a struggle. Fears of a fracture arose, yet Pant returned for the fourth Test, ready to answer Bazball with Rishball. Or so we thought, while destiny schemed in the British summer.
The Dance of Fate
In March, Pant was seen dancing at his sister Sakshi’s wedding in Mussoorie. Videos of him grooving to Dulhe Ka Sehra and Dama Dam Mast Qalandar alongside cricket legends MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina went viral. But his year has been a curious dance with destiny, full of sudden twists and turns.
The year began with a high-high acquisition by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for Rs 27 crore, the highest in IPL history. But through the rest of the spring, Pant watched from the sidelines as India embraced glory and lifted the Champions Trophy. Once India’s version 2.0 of MS Dhoni in limited overs cricket, Pant was made to warm the bench to accommodate KL Rahul’s calm and experience.
The IPL that followed was a blur of memes, snarls before redemption. As a batter, Pant struggled the entire season, his franchise failed to qualify for the final rounds, giving haters an opportunity to mock his decision to choose LSG, ostensibly for money.
His career seemed back on track after the first three Tests in England, his batting reaching the same highs of aggression, devastation and celebrations. But, like always, destiny is threatening to pull him back with a foot injury.
The Fault With Our Stars
Pant was born in Roorkee, a verdant town of greens and the Ganga’s ebb and flow. His life has been marked with so many ups and downs, interventions by fate, that it now resembles a soap opera, which, like the third season of The White Lotus, can be called Amor Fati.
After losing his father at a young age, Pant pursued his cricket dreams fiercely. He endured hardships with his boyish smile and quick wit, sleeping in Gurudwaras, travelling long distances, and forging his destiny with an explosive entry into Test cricket. In 2022, just as his legend was peaking after two iconic knocks in Australia, Pant’s car crashed into a divider. He feared his life was over.
Badly burned and with a knee twisted 180 degrees, Pant wrestled with fate in the shadows, summoning extraordinary physical and emotional strength.
His return to cricket became an inspiration. By late 2023, after intensive physiotherapy, he began sharing videos of cautious steps and gym routines-testaments to grit reminiscent of Man Singh’s defiance against destiny. In early 2024, Pant returned to domestic cricket, cheered as a symbol of resilience. Fans flocked to see whether the fearless match-winner still lived within his battered body. For his sheer perseverance, Pant deserved a gallantry award.
His comeback for India in limited-overs cricket made headlines: a rapid 45 against South Africa, a lightning-fast stumping-moments when it seemed he had finally outwitted destiny. Yet fresh setbacks soon returned. Pant became a third-choice keeper-batter in T20s, a reserve in one-dayers, and even lost the captaincy race to Shubman Gill, though he once seemed destined to lead India’s Test side.
The Curse of the Dead Snake
Setbacks, like the dead snake in Sonchiriya, seem to haunt his path. Each turn is poised to disrupt his revival just as he is ready for new heights. For Pant, misfortune is less a mere accident than a persistent presence: a stalker to be confronted, never avoided.
Like Lakhna, he senses the risks in every step. Yet, time and again, Pant’s response mirrors Man Singh’s: move forward-mai ka naam le ke aage badho-with his bold and aggressive stance on the field, charged with both peril and possibility.
His willingness to endure, to “love his fate,” shines through every comeback and every daring moment on the field. In a year of both triumphs and challenges, Pant remains Indian cricket’s most poignant story of how destiny may not always be conquered but can always be danced with. Here’s to seeing Pant’s unorthodox dance again. Down the pitch, one hand slipping off the bat’s handle, the Duke’s flying away to the Thames.
Because destiny may clip his wings once in a while, but he remains cricket’s Sonchiriya- the rare golden bird of Chambal.
– Ends
