Rishabh Pant, in full Rishabh Rajendra Pant, (born 4 October 1997, Haridwar, Uttarakhand) is an Indian left-hand wicketkeeper batter. He was the vice-captain of the India Under-19 team in World Cup 2016. Presently, he is one of the most crucial members of the Indian squad in all three formats and captain of the Delhi Capitals in IPL. Pant is known for his unorthodox batting style.

Rishabh Pant Early life and Education

Rishabh Pant did his early schooling at The Indian Public School, Dehradun. At the age of 12, he shifted to Delhi to train with Tarak Sinha at Sonnet Cricket Academy. His early days were not as smooth as his batting in present. In Delhi, Rishabh’s childhood coach Tarak Sinha advised him to shift to Rajasthan for more opportunities in cricket. But later after a few years, he returned to Delhi. He went to Shri Venkateswara College in Delhi. Rishabh had always desired to be a cricketer and admired legendary Australian wicket-keeper batter, Adam Gilchrist.

Rishabh Pant International Debut

Rishabh Pant Test Debut – 18 August 2018 against England at Nottingham

Rishabh Pant ODI Debut– 21 October 2018 against West Indies at Guwahati

Rishabh Pant T20I Debut– 1 February 2017 against England at Bengaluru

Rishabh Pant Career

Rishabh Pant Domestic Career

Rishabh Pant represented Rajasthan at the Under- 14 and Under-16 levels. Things were not as smooth as they looked for Rishabh. He had to face some repercussions for his unique batting style and was thrown out of the academy. He returned to Delhi and played for some multiple age-level matches. His turning point came when he made his debut for Delhi in 2015. After that, he never looked back in the past.

A year after making his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 18, he broke records by scoring a triple-hundred against Maharashtra. In 2016, he scored the fastest century in Ranji Trophy from just 48 balls against Jharkhand. In the same year, in the Under- 19 cricket world cup, Pant hit an 18-ball half-century against Nepal. Later, his century against Namibia helped India to qualify for the semis. Incidentally, on the same day, he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for 1.9 crores.

He was coached by Rahul Dravid when he was playing for the India-A team. Dravid helped him in refining his skills in batting as well as in Wicket-keeping.

Rishabh Pant International career

In January 2017, Rishabh Pant made his debut for India in a series against England. At the time of his debut, Pant was the youngest player to debut for India inT20Is. His age was then 19 years 120 days.

After that, he was named in the Indian Test squad for the series against England in 2018. He made his test debut on 18 August 2018. In the same series, he scored his maiden Test century becoming the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a test century in England. He became the first batter of India to make his first run in test matches by hitting a six.

In the same year, Pant got his ODI cap when he got named for the series against West Indies. He made his ODI debut on 21 October 2018.

In December 2018, Pant became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a century in Australia. In the same series, he set a record for most catches by an Indian wicket-keeper. He took 11 catches in one match.

In the 2019 World Cup, Rishabh Pant was called up to the Indian squad as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan who got injured during a match.

In 2019, ICC named Rishabh Pant as the rising star of the squad. He became an important part of the Indian squad when MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. Since then, he is maintaining his position in the Indian squad.

In 2021, Pant was dropped from the ODI squad against Australia. He was also not picked up in the first test in Adelaide. India suffered a huge defeat in the first test.

Rishabh was picked ahead of his counterpart Wriddhiman Saha in the second test in Melbourne where his innings of 97 runs helped India to end the match in a draw.

In the historic win against Australia at Gabba, Pant put a match-winning performance and helped India to chase the target of 328. He scored 89 runs in the fourth innings.

Rishabh Pant IPL Career

Rishabh was bought by Delhi Daredevils in 2016. On the same day, he scored a century in 2016 Under 19 Cricket World Cup.

Since then, he has maintained his position as a crucial member of the IPL franchise’s squad. In 2016, Pant scored his maiden half-century against Gujarat Lions.

In 2018, he scored the highest individual score by an Indian cricketer in IPL history. He also became the second-youngest player to score a century in IPL. In 2021, Pant was named captain of the Delhi Capitals. He was also retained by the franchise before the auction for the 2022 upcoming edition of TATA IPL.

Rishabh Pant Stats

In ODIs, Rishabh Pant has played 24 matches and scored 715 runs with 5 half-centuries.

In Tests, Rishabh Pant has played 30 matches and scored 1920 runs with 4 centuries and 9 half-centuries.

In T20Is, Rishabh has played 43 matches and scored 683 runs with 3 half-centuries.

In IPL, Rishabh Pant has played 85 matches and scored 2499 runs with 1 century and 15 half-centuries.

Rishabh Pant Records

· Fastest century (18 balls) in Under-19 World Cup 2016.

· Fastest century (48 balls) in Ranji Trophy.

· First Indian wicket-keeper to hit a century in England.

· First Indian wicketkeeper to hit a century in the fourth innings of a test.

· Most catches taken in a test match (11).

Rishabh Pant Awards

· Emerging player of the season in IPL 2018.

· ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year in 2018

· ICC Rising Star of the squad in World Cup 2019.

· Men’s Player of the Month in February, 2021.

Rishabh Pant Family

Rishabh Pant was born in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, to Rajendra Pant and Saroj Pant. He has a sister named Sakshi Pant. In 2017, Pant’s father passed away due to a cardiac arrest. With his extreme dedication, just two days after cremating his father, Pant scored 57 runs for his IPL side Delhi Daredevils and dedicated his innings as a tribute to his father.

Personal Information

Rishabh Pant Full Name: Rishabh Rajendra Pant

Rishabh Pant Height: 170 cm

Rishabh Pant Birthplace: Haridwar, Uttarakhand

Rishabh Pant Date of Birth: 4 October, 1997

Rishabh Pant Age: 24 years

Rishabh Pant Nationality: Indian

Rishabh Pant Religion: Hinduism

Rishabh Pant School: The Indian Public School, Dehradun

Rishabh Pant College: Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, New Delhi

Rishabh Pant Marital Status: Unmarried

Rishabh Pant Favorite Cricketer: Adam Gilchrist

Rishabh Pant Jersey Number: 77

Rishabh Pant Batting style: Left-hand bat

Rishabh Pant Favorite Shot: Pull Shot

Rishabh Pant Hobbies: Swimming, Music

Rishabh Pant Net Worth: $8.5 Million

FAQs

  1. When did Rishabh Pant make his debut for India?

In January 2017, Rishabh Pant made his debut for India in a T20I series against England.

2. Who is Rishabh Pant’s idol?

Rishabh had always desired to be a cricketer and admired legendary Australian wicket-keeper batter, Adam Gilchrist.

3. What was the turning point in Rishabh Pant career?

In the historic win against Australia at Gabba, Pant put a match-winning performance and helped India to chase the target of 328. Since then he is an integral part of the Indian team.

4. When did Rishabh Pant start playing IPL?

Rishabh was bought by Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2016 IPL season