Rishabh Pant returned to play IPL 2024 after recovering from severe injuries he suffered in a life-threatening car accident in December 2022. He was named captain of Delhi Capitals (DC) again after his return, having missed the 2023 season following the mishap.
– Pant was bought by DC at the 2016 IPL auction, on the same day that he scored a century to seal India’s place in the Under-19 World Cup semi-final, and he has remained with them ever since.
– An attacking left-hand wicketkeeper-batter, Pant made a name for himself with his audacious stroke play and daredevil approach. His best season with the bat was in IPL 2018 when he scored 684 runs at a strike rate of 173.60.
– In IPL 2019, Pant was DC’s second-highest run-scorer – 488 at a strike rate of 162.66 – as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
– Pant was named DC’s captain for IPL 2021, when Shreyas Iyer was injured, and had led the team to the top of the points table at the halfway stage before the season was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. When the season resumed later in 2021, DC decided to continue with Pant as their captain.
Rishabh Pant Biography
| Full name | Rishabh Rajendra Pant |
| Nick Name | |
| Date of Birth/DOB/ age | Oct 04, 1997 (26 years) |
| Birth Place | Haridwar, Uttarakhand |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | |
| Profession | Cricketer (Batsman, Wicket-keeper) |
| Country | India |
| Cricket Role | Wicketkeeper Batter |
| Father name | Rajendra Pant (Died in 2017) |
| Mother name | Saroj Pant |
| Married | Unmarried |
| Spouse or Girlfriend | Urvashi Rautela (actor) (rumoured) Isha Negi |
| Children | N/A |
| Education Qualification | Not Known |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Current Residence | Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Batting Style | Left hand Bat |
| Bowling Style | |
| Domestic Cricket debut | |
| International Debut | Test– 18 August 2018 vs England at Nottingham ODI– 21 October 2018 vs West Indies at Guwahati T20– 1 February 2017 vs England at Bengaluru |
| Teams | Delhi, India U19, Delhi Capitals, India, India A, North Zone, India Blue, India Red, Indian Board Presidents XI, Asia XI, Indians, Leicestershire |
Rishabh Pant Physical Statistics
| Height | in centimeters– 170 cm in meters– 1.70 m in feet inches– 5’ 7” |
| Weight | in kilograms– 65 kg in pounds– 143 lbs |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | – Chest: 40 inches – Waist: 30 inches – Biceps: 14 inches |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Hair Color | Black |
Rishabh Pant Profile
At 19, Rishabh Pant has gone through all the highs and lows of a cricketing career. A promising talent from Delhi, Pant came into reckoning after his exploits for India Under-19 in the 2016 World Cup. A dashing left-handed wicket-keeper batsman, he lit up the tournament with a blitzing 24-ball 75, the fastest half-century of the tournament, against Nepal and followed it up with a century against Namibia. India lost the title round – but came back with several positives – nothing bigger than the emergence of Pant.
Pant’s heroics didn’t go unnoticed, and days after his Nepal stunner, he was drafted in by the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL auctions. He gained a permanent place in Delhi’s domestic circuit and by the end of the season was even named as their captain, albeit for the one-day format of the game. In between, he made his full India debut, against England in a Twenty20 international in Bengaluru.
The second Ranji season for Rishabh wasn’t as good as the first one. But he made up for that in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He smashed the second fastest hundred in the T-20 history in just 32 balls against Himachal Pradesh. This knock brought him into the selectors reckoning again and he was named in the Nidhas Trophy team.
Pant again had a disappointing outing in his comeback match. He hasn’t been himself at the international level and often tried to hit the ball too hard to his liking and failed to portray his hitting prowess. Strangely, his strike rate in the International T20 is just over 100 which is well below average for a power hitter.
Pant is not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination but he has all the raw materials in him to excel at the International level. And this is the reason he has been retained by Delhi Daredevils where he will be playing under Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting.
IPL through the years
The expertise that the IPL demands and the skill set that Rishabh Pant posses are absolutely in synchronization. If ever the definition of an ideal T20 batsman would be written, Rishabh Pant would tick most of the aspects. He is a ferocious hitter of the cricket ball wide a wide array of shots and can clear the boundary ropes with ridiculous ease. The scoops, the paddles, the flicks, you name it and this bloke has every shot in his repertoire.
His career so far is an epitome of the Indian Premier League’s timeline ‘where talent meets opportunity.’ Rishabh was picked up by Delhi Daredevils at a whopping price of 1.9 Crores in the 2016 auction. His first season didn’t pan out the way Rishabh would have liked but he definitely vindicated the owners trust in 2017. A breakthrough season and Rishabh Pant had well and truly arrived. Going into the second season of the IPL, his confidence was sky-high and there were talks of an imminent India cap for the 2017 Champions Trophy. But life had another twist for the young batsman. Days before his team’s first match – against Royal Challengers Bangalore, his father passed away, leaving a void difficult to fill. He came back to cricket from the tragedy, nearly guided his team home with a single-handed effort, and later blasted a blinding 97 against Gujarat Lions to finish the tournament with 366 runs.
Rishabh was retained for the third season and he proved to be Delhi’s only shining light in otherwise a pretty dark campaign. Throughout the season, Pant was responsible for demolishing the morale of the bowlers. His innings of 125 against SRH was one for the ages. The manner in which he took world-class Bhuvneshwar apart was a testimony to his grand stature as a T20 batsman. He will churn out for Delhi Capitals this year with an immense amount of international experience under his belt. And he would very well know a stellar season can fetch him a ticket to England for the World Cup.
A dasher, an aggressor or may be the perfect gen-next batsman, Rishabh Pant came in to the WC squad as a replacement for an injured Shikhar Dhawan. He was ignored for the initial squad which was picked for the WC but got his chance at the expense of Dhawan’s injury. Being a left-hander, he might throw in a spanner in the opposition’s plans if India use him judiciously in the middle overs. A see-the-ball and hit-the-ball approach might not come off very often but it will serve a lot of entertainment when it does come off. A good season for Delhi Daredevils just ahead of the World Cup would have also helped his mindset. His cricketing stocks have only risen high with many cricketing pundits batting for his inclusion in the side. Now that Pant has a go, he would want to make it count. The experience of playing Test cricket in England last year will also help him in adapting to the conditions better.
Rishabh Pant Records
- In the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, he was India’s 2nd highest run-scorer with 267 runs.
- In the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, he scored the fastest half-century (18 balls).
- In the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy, Pant scored 308 runs against Maharashtra and became the 3rd youngest Indian and 4th overall, to hit a triple century in first-class cricket.
- In November 2016, Pant scored the fastest century (in 48 balls) in the Ranji Trophy, against Jharkhand.
- In 2018, he became the 1st Indian and 6th overall player to take 7 catches on Test debut as a wicket-keeper.
- In 2018, he became the 1st Indian and 12th overall player to hit a six as the first scoring shot on Test debut.
- The first ever Indian-wicketkeeper to score a century in England.
- In 2018, he became the 1st Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in the fourth innings of a Test.
Rishabh Pant – The first wicketkeeper-batsman to score a century in the fouth innings - On 10 December 2018, on the final day of the first test between India and Australia, he equalled the world record for most catches taken in a Test by taking the 11th catch in the form of Mitchell Starc. Panth matched the record currently held by England’s Jack Russell and South Africa’s A.B. de Villiers.
Rishabh Pant Career Stats
Batting & Fielding
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 33 | 56 | 4 | 2271 | 159* | 43.67 | 3084 | 73.63 | 5 | 11 | 246 | 55 | 119 | 14 |
| ODIs | 30 | 26 | 1 | 865 | 125* | 34.60 | 811 | 106.65 | 1 | 5 | 90 | 26 | 26 | 1 |
| T20Is | 66 | 56 | 12 | 987 | 65* | 22.43 | 781 | 126.37 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 37 | 27 | 9 |
| FC | 57 | 92 | 7 | 4123 | 308 | 48.50 | 4999 | 82.47 | 10 | 19 | 440 | 136 | 189 | 21 |
| List A | 66 | 60 | 5 | 1783 | 135 | 32.41 | 1704 | 104.63 | 2 | 11 | 183 | 58 | 69 | 11 |
| T20s | 179 | 168 | 29 | 4354 | 128* | 31.32 | 3006 | 144.84 | 2 | 22 | 399 | 196 | 107 | 29 |
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 33 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| ODIs | 30 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20Is | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 57 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 1/9 | 1/9 | 9.00 | 4.50 | 12.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20s | 179 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Rishabh Pant IPL Auction Price History
Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 15.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2019 | 15.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2020 | 15.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2021 | 15.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2022 | 16.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2023 | 16.00 Cr | Delhi |
| 2024 | 16.00 Cr | Delhi |
Rishabh Pant’s Social Media Accounts
| Rishabh Pant | |
| Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) | |
| Rishabh Pant | |
| Wikipedia | Rishabh Pant |
Some Lesser-Known Facts About Rishabh Pant
- Does Rishabh Pant smoke?: No
- Does Rishabh Pant drink alcohol?: Not Known
- Rishabh always wanted to be a cricketer and grew up idolizing Australian Wicket-keeper Batsman, Adam Gilchrist.
- At the age of 12, he moved from Roorkee to Delhi for professional coaching in cricket. Initially, he was enrolled at the Sonnet Club, where his childhood coach Tarak Sinha suggested he move to Rajasthan for better opportunities in cricket.
- He represented the Rajasthan at U-14 and U-16 level. He faced discrimination in the Rajasthan cricket circle for being an outsider and was thrown out of an academy. Rishabh Pant in his younger days
- To save his cricketing career, he moved from Rajasthan to Delhi, which proved to be the right move for him; as he played exceptionally well for Delhi at various age-level tournaments, and made his first-class debut for Delhi in 2015.
- When he started playing for the India-A team, its coach Rahul Dravid played a big role in grooming his batting skills as he spent long hours with Pant to improve his batting. Rishabh Pant With Rahul Dravid
- In 2016, Delhi Daredevils bought him for ₹1.9 crore from a base price of ₹10 lakhs.
- He holds the record for the fastest 50 in the U19 World Cup history (18 balls) in 2016.
- In 2017, his father passed away due to a cardiac arrest, and just two days after cremating his father, he showed exemplary character by making 57 runs for Delhi Daredevils in an IPL match.
- He is known to be a prankster yet an emotional person.
- According to his coach, Tarak Sinha, it was Ashish Nehra who had first discovered his ability to represent India players almost a decade before he represented India.Rishabh Pant with his coach Tarak Sinha
- In 2018, he won the ‘Emerging Player of the Season’ award for his splendid performance in IPL 11 for Delhi Daredevils as he was the 2nd highest run-scorer in the tournament with 684 runs, hit the most number of 6s (37) and 4s (68) as well. Rishabh Pant – Emerging Player of the Season (IPL 11)
- He has a strange record to his name. During his debut Test series against England in 2018 where he failed to open his account after facing 29 balls, which became the joint-longest duck for India in Tests alongside Suresh Raina and Irfan Pathan.
- In 2018, Rishabh Pant and actor Urvashi Rautela reportedly had a brief relationship, but it ended badly. Although Rishabh refuted the rumours, Urvashi stayed silent on them. They later got involved in a conflict on social media for an extended period.
- Very few people know that he is a fine gymnast.
- Ahead of the 14th edition of IPL, Delhi Capitals (DC) appointed Rishabh Pant as their new captain after Shreyas Iyer dislocated his left shoulder, making him the fifth-youngest captain in IPL.
- On 20 December 2021, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami appointed him as the state brand ambassador.
- On 30 December 2022, while he was driving his Mercedes GLE car near Haridwar, he met with a major accident. At around 5.30 am, his car hit the divider railings on the Delhi-Haridwar highway, and the car turned a few times before it went on fire. According to Kishor Singh, the superintendent of police, in Haridwar (rural),
