The player who has a habit of changing the odds and rewriting them in the team’s favour, and who possesses a beast mindset that every team fears, is Rishabh Pant.
He also has excellent hands behind the wickets.
Rishabh Pant is not just a name, but an embodiment of India’s fearless mindset, the one who changes the scenario of the match.
Childhood
Pant was born on 4 October 1997 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. Rishabh Pant’s father, Rajendra Pant, was a school faculty member in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, and his mother is a homemaker. Pant has an elder sister named Sakshi Pant.
At the age of just 12, Pant used to travel to Delhi with his mother on weekends to get training from coach Tarak Sinha sir at the Sonnet Cricket Academy.
Both of them used to stay at Gurudwara in Moti Bagh as they did not have suitable accommodation in the city.
Coach Sinha suggested that he switch teams and play U-13 and U-15 cricket for Rajasthan, but it didn’t work for him.
Pant was later guided by his mentor to make changes to his batting in order to become a better batsman for his team.
The Turning Point
The Turning Point
He was playing U-19 cricket for Delhi against Assam.
Pant had top-scored with 35 runs in his first innings and then hit 150 in the second innings, which he claims was the most important knock in his career.
After that, On 1 February 2016, during the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Pant hit an 18-ball fifty against Nepal, the fastest at this level.
Domestic Career Begins
Pant made his first-class debut on 22 October 2015 in the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy and his List A debut the next month in the 2015–16 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
In the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy, while playing a match against Maharashtra, Pant scored 308 runs in an innings, becoming the third-youngest Indian to score a triple century in first-class cricket.
On 8 November 2016, Pant scored the fastest century in the Ranji Trophy, from just 48 balls against Jharkhand.
In February 2017, Pant was named Delhi’s captain for the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
He took over from Gautam Gambhir, who led Delhi to the final of the previous season. He became one of the youngest captains in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy history.
Everything was going in a good flow until a bad news received by him, he came to know that his father died due to cardiac arrest on 6th April 2017.
After getting the news, he immediately travelled to Roorkee, Uttarakhand.It was a tough time for his family and Rishabh couldn’t believe what just happened.
He didn’t lose the hope and just never give up on this kind of situation.
Beginning of International career
In January 2017, Pant was named in India’s Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against England.
He made his debut for India in the third T20I against England at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 1 February 2017.
Pant was the youngest player to debut for India in a T20I match at the age of 19 years 120 days.
In February 2018, he was named in India’s T20I squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy.
In July 2018, Pant was named in India’s Test squad for the series against England.
He made his Test debut against England on 18 August 2018. He became the first batter for India to get off the mark in Test cricket with a six in the series.
On 11 September 2018, Pant scored his maiden Test century, against England also becoming the second-youngest wicket-keeper and the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England.
The following month, he was named in India’s One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against the West Indies.
He made his ODI debut for India against the West Indies on 21 October 2018.
In June 2019, Pant was called up to India’s squad at the 2019 Cricket World Cup as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan.
In 2020 Ms Dhoni suddenly announced his retirement and Rishabh was the front runner of the replacement but he was in an option with KL Rahul.
In 2021-22 Border – Gavaskar Trophy he was the Unsung Hero of the Series where he played a knock of 97 in 4th test and an unbeatean 89 on the final test and made India win the series.It was a big contribution to the team by Pant.
A Series is also made on the Border – Gavaskar Trophy by the name “Bandon Mein Tha Dum”.
Pant was named in India’s squad for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
In March 2022, during the second match against Sri Lanka, Pant scored the fastest half-century by a batter for India in a Test match, breaking the record previously held by Kapil Dev. He brought up his half-century in just 28 deliveries.
Pant was named Captain for Indian team In May 2022 for the South Africa tour of India 2022 series.At the age of 24 years and 248 days, Pant became the second-youngest captain to lead India in a T20I match.
In July 2022, in the final match of India’s tour of England, Pant recorded his maiden century in ODI cricket scoring 125 runs and remaining not out.
In April 2024, Pant was added to India’s squad for the T20 World Cup in June, marking his maiden comeback to international cricket following his horror car crash in late 2022.His game management was praised as a critical part of India’s victory in the final against South Africa.
In June 2025, he became the first Indian cricketer to score hundreds in both innings of a Test in England.
Also, he became the second wicket keeper batter to smash centuries in both innings of a single test match after Andy Flower.
He became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper to complete 3,000 runs by completing it in 76 innings in Tests.
He achieved all these records by slamming twin centuries in the 1st Test at Headingley as part of the 5-match Test Series from June–August 2025 for the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy.
He is currently the Vice-Captain of Indian Cricket Team in Tests.
Fatal Car Crash in Late 2022
On 30 December 2022, Pant was involved in a near-fatal car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway at Narsan Kalan village near Roorkee.
Pant was reportedly driving his Mercedes-AMG GLE 43 Coupe from New Delhi to his hometown Roorkee and was the only person inside the vehicle, according to eye-witnesses.
The car reportedly caught fire when it collided with a central divider on the road. The incident was reported to have taken place at 5:30 am and the car skidded for about 200 metres before hitting the road divider.
He was cleared of any serious injury and remained stable despite sustaining injuries to his head, back and feet including two cuts on his forehead and a ligament tear to his right knee. He also hurt his right wrist, ankle and toe and suffered abrasion injuries to his back.
Pant was initially admitted to Saksham Hospital in Roorkee, and was later transferred to Max Hospital in Dehradun.
The MRI scans of his brain and spine indicated they were normal but he was advised to undergo plastic surgery for his facial injuries, lacerations and abrasions.
He was rescued by Sushil Mann, a bus driver, and Paramjeet Singh, a bus conductor, both employees of Haryana Roadways.
IPL Career
Pant was purchased by the Delhi Daredevils ahead of the 2016 Indian Premier League on the same day he scored a century for India U-19 team in the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
During the 2018 Indian Premier League, Pant scored an unbeaten 128 from 63 balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, making then highest individual score by an Indian cricketer in IPL history.
He also became the second youngest player to score a century in the IPL.
Pant was named the captain of the Delhi Capitals for the 2021 Indian Premier League.
He was retained as captain for the 2022 IPL season as well.In 2024, Delhi Capitals parted it’s way from Pant for upcoming season and released him in auction.
In 2025 he was bought by Lucknow Super Giatns for 27 CR and making him the most expensive player of IPL 2025 and was later named captain of Lucknow.
Records
First Indian wicketkeeper to score hundreds in England, Australia, and South Africa in Test cricket.
First wicketkeeper-batter to score match-winning centuries in both England and Australia.
Only Indian wicketkeeper to score two Test centuries overseas before turning 23.
He became the fastest wicketkeeper for India to affect fifty dismissals in Test cricket.
Among the few Indian keepers with multiple Test hundreds overseas.
Rishabh’s journey has taught every human being that “Setbacks tested Rishabh Pant, but his comeback defined him.
Also read: Premchand Bairwa Biography: Rajasthan’s Courageous and Inspirational Leader
