Rishabh Pant Quick Facts
| Full Name | Rishabh Rajendra Pant |
| Profession | Cricketer, Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Date of Birth | 4 October 1997 |
| Birthplace | Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India |
| Batting Style | Left-handed |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm medium |
| Role | Wicketkeeper-batter |
| Domestic Team | Delhi |
| Active Years | 2015 to present (international debut 2017) |
| IPL Team | Delhi Capitals (2016 to 2024; traded back in June 2026). Previously Lucknow Super Giants (2025 to 2026) |
| Nationality | Indian |
Why Rishabh Pant Matters
Rishabh Pant has changed what a Test wicketkeeper-batter can be. No Indian has combined attacking intent and match-winning impact in the longest format quite like him, and his innings at Sydney, Brisbane and Edgbaston have already passed into Indian cricket folklore. His story also carries rare resilience. In December 2022 he survived a car crash that left him unable to walk, yet within 15 months he was back in the IPL, and he marked his Test return with a hundred. Now the first Indian to hit 100 Test sixes, Pant remains the most watchable cricketer in India’s Test side, with an influence that stretches well beyond the scorecard.
Rishabh Pant Career Stats
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | 100s / 50s | Highest Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 52 | 3,725 | 43.82 | 8 / 21 | 159* |
| ODI | 31 | 871 | 33.50 | 1 / 5 | 125* |
| T20I | 76 | 1,209 | 23.25 | 0 / 3 | 65* |
Early Life and Family
Pant was born on 4 October 1997 to Rajendra and Saroj Pant, and has an elder sister, Sakshi. From the age of 12 he travelled from Haridwar to Delhi at weekends to train under coach Tarak Sinha at the Sonnet Cricket Academy. His father died of a cardiac arrest in April 2017, a few weeks after Pant’s first T20I appearance.
He was vice-captain of the India side that finished runner-up at the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup, where he hit an 18-ball fifty against Nepal. He has represented Delhi in domestic cricket since 2015 and scored 308 in a Ranji Trophy match in 2016.
Breakthrough: The Year Everything Changed
Pant’s emergence came in a rush. In a single year, 2016, he went from Under-19 vice-captain to Ranji Trophy record-breaker, adding a 48-ball hundred against Jharkhand to his triple century against Maharashtra. Delhi Daredevils had already signed him at that year’s IPL auction, and in 2017 he smashed 97 off 43 balls against Gujarat Lions, the innings that announced his range to a national audience. A T20I debut followed in February 2017, and in August 2018 he was handed his Test cap at Trent Bridge, getting off the mark with a six. Within weeks he had a maiden Test hundred at The Oval, and the selectors had found their long-term wicketkeeper.
Rishabh Pant International Career Journey
| Format | Debut | Last Match / Status |
|---|---|---|
| T20I | 1 February 2017 v England | Last played 28 July 2024 v Sri Lanka |
| Test | 18 August 2018 v England | Active (latest: 2nd Test v Sri Lanka, Colombo, August 2026) |
| ODI | 21 October 2018 v West Indies | Last played 7 August 2024 v Sri Lanka |
Pant made his Test debut at Trent Bridge in 2018 and scored his first Test century at The Oval later in that series. He went on to make hundreds in Australia and South Africa and played a central role in India’s series win in Australia in 2020-21.
On 30 December 2022 he was seriously injured in a car crash on the Delhi-Dehradun highway near Roorkee. After surgery and rehabilitation he returned to competitive cricket in the 2024 IPL and to Test cricket later that year.
On the 2025 tour of England he scored hundreds in both innings of the Headingley Test. He fractured his foot while batting in the Manchester Test in July 2025, returned to bat and made 54, and missed the final Test. When Shubman Gill was ruled out with a neck injury, Pant captained India in the second Test against South Africa at Guwahati in November 2025, becoming India’s 38th Test captain; India lost the series 0-2. In June 2026 KL Rahul was named Test vice-captain in his place. Pant played his 50th Test against Afghanistan in June 2026, scoring 81.
Rishabh Pant ICC Tournament Record
| Tournament | Result | Pant’s Involvement |
|---|---|---|
| U19 World Cup 2016 | Runner-up | Vice-captain; 18-ball fifty v Nepal |
| ODI World Cup 2019 | Semi-finalist | Joined the squad as an injury replacement |
| World Test Championship final 2021 | Runner-up | Played the final v New Zealand |
| T20 World Cup 2024 | Winner | Member of the winning side |
| Champions Trophy 2025 | Winner | Member of the winning squad |
Rishabh Pant IPL Record
Pant played for Delhi Daredevils, later Delhi Capitals, from 2016 to 2024, making 111 appearances and captaining the side from 2021. Lucknow Super Giants signed him for Rs 27 crore at the auction before the 2025 season and made him captain. He stepped down from the LSG captaincy on 29 May 2026, and in June 2026 he was traded back to Delhi Capitals for Rs 15 crore, with Kuldeep Yadav moving to LSG.
| Season | Highlight |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 684 runs, including an unbeaten 128 against Sunrisers Hyderabad |
| 2021 | Took over as Delhi Capitals captain |
| 2023 | Missed the season after his car accident |
| 2025 | 269 runs in 14 matches with one century; LSG finished seventh |
| 2026 | 312 runs in 14 matches; LSG finished last; stepped down as captain |
Defining Innings
Pant’s best innings tend to arrive in the toughest conditions. After that Oval hundred he made an unbeaten 159 at Sydney in January 2019 as India secured their first Test series win in Australia. Two years later came the defining innings of his career: an unbeaten 89 on the final day at the Gabba as India chased 328 to win the series 2-1 and end Australia’s 32-year unbeaten Test run at the ground.
In 2022 he made a counter-attacking 146 at Edgbaston and an unbeaten 100 at Cape Town. After his long recovery he returned to Test cricket with 109 against Bangladesh in Chennai in September 2024. At Headingley in June 2025 he became only the second wicketkeeper, after Andy Flower, to score hundreds in both innings of a Test, and at Galle in August 2026 he reached 100 Test sixes in fewer balls than any batter in history.
Rishabh Pant Records and Milestones
- First Indian, and the fastest batter, to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket (August 2026, Galle)
- Hundreds in both innings of the Headingley Test against England in June 2025
- Fastest Indian wicketkeeper to 1,000 Test runs and to 50 Test dismissals
- Became India’s highest run-scorer in the World Test Championship in August 2026
- Scored 308 for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy in 2016, and a 48-ball Ranji Trophy hundred the same season
Rishabh Pant Awards and Honours
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2018 | ICC Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year |
| 2021 | First winner of the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award (January 2021) |
| 2021 | Named in the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year |
Playing Style and Technique
Pant’s batting defies coaching-manual orthodoxy but rests on sound foundations. He has a compact defence against spin, uses his feet early to disrupt a bowler’s length, and will reverse-sweep spinners or ramp fast bowlers when fields are set for the conventional shot. His trademark one-handed pull and falling-away slog are calculated risks rather than wild swings, based on reading fields and plans quickly. Behind the stumps he has improved considerably since his early Tests, particularly standing up to spin on turning pitches at home. The familiar criticism, that he sometimes gives his wicket away after doing the hard work, is the flip side of a method that wins matches.
Current Form (2025-26) and Outlook
Pant, who turned 29 on 4 October, has had a mixed 2026. In the IPL he scored 312 runs as Lucknow Super Giants finished last, and he stepped down as captain before being traded back to Delhi Capitals in June. In Tests he has been more productive, with 81 in his 50th Test against Afghanistan and 66 at Galle, where India beat Sri Lanka by 165 runs and he became the first Indian to 100 Test sixes. He has not played white-ball cricket for India since August 2024, so the Tests in New Zealand in late November are his next international focus.
Personal Life
Pant comes from a Kumaoni family in Uttarakhand. He has not publicly confirmed a marriage. His recovery from the December 2022 crash, which included knee ligament surgery, kept him out of all cricket for more than a year.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rishabh Pant
When was Rishabh Pant born?
Rishabh Pant was born on 4 October 1997 in Uttarakhand.
Which IPL team does Rishabh Pant play for?
He was traded from Lucknow Super Giants back to Delhi Capitals in June 2026. He played for Delhi from 2016 to 2024 and for Lucknow in 2025 and 2026.
Has Rishabh Pant captained India in Tests?
Yes. He led India in the second Test against South Africa at Guwahati in November 2025 while Shubman Gill was injured.
What record did Rishabh Pant set in Sri Lanka in 2026?
During the Galle Test in August 2026 he became the first Indian and the fastest batter to reach 100 Test sixes.
