For many years we were waiting for another Mahendra Singh Dhoni but we found Rishabh Pant. Whether it’s his wicket-keeping technique or flamboyant batting, Pant’s every step was compared to MS Dhoni in his initial stages. But the best part is, he remains true to himself and his nature of playing cricket and at the age of 24 years he was able to accomplish a lot of things that not many players can. The recently concluded India vs South Africa test series showed Rishabh Pant has the temperament and has a lot of fight in him and that’s what separates the men from the boys.
From his childhood, Pant knew that he wanted to be a cricketer as he moved around from one city to another to make a name for himself. Being from Roorkee, he understood that he need to switch places to get the attention of the selectors. With this intention, he switched to Delhi and then to Rajasthan and then returned to Delhi in his early teens. In the next few years, Pant opened the batting for India in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He announced himself by smashing a record-breaking fifty against Nepal, followed it up with a century against Namibia, and single-handedly helped India qualify for the Semis. You will be amazed to know that he hit the century on the same day when he was bought by Delhi Daredevils for INR 1.9 crores from a base price of Rs 10 lakh.
Ranji Tprophy Debut
He made his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 18 for Delhi in 2015. In his first season, Pant broke records by scoring a triple hundred against Maharashtra. He also scored a blistering 48-ball hundred against Jharkhand in the 2016-17 season. And in January 2017, Pant finally got his maiden call up to India’s T20 squad for the three home matches against England. And to be honest he has never looked back since then. Although it’s early to consider his stats as he is very early in his career, what all he has achieved surely needs a glance. So, before we move with his accomplishments let us have a look at his stats in all formats of the game.
| Format | Match | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| Tests | 28 | 48 | 1735 | 159* | 39.43 | 67.48 | 4 | 7 | 182 | 38 |
| ODI | 21 | 19 | 630 | 85 | 33.15 | 113.1 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 23 |
| T20I | 41 | 35 | 623 | 65* | 23.07 | 122.8 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 28 |
| FC | 52 | 84 | 3587 | 308 | 46.58 | 79.95 | 9 | 15 | 376 | 119 |
| List A | 57 | 53 | 1548 | 135 | 31.59 | 106.7 | 1 | 10 | 152 | 55 |
| T20 | 140 | 134 | 3650 | 128* | 32.88 | 145.5 | 2 | 21 | 322 | 171 |
Accomplishments of Rishabh Pant
- Walking out in the middle of the field to bat on your test debut is surely one of the most nervous moments for any cricketer. The same happened with Rishabh Pant when he was making his debut against England in their home ground and was facing the in-form and dangerous Adil Rashid. But one thing was different that Pant was not nervous at all. He defended his first ball and on the second ball he danced down the track and smashed the ball over the boundary rope and scored his first ever test run with a six. Pant is the first ever Indian to do so.
- When it comes to wicketkeeping then MS Dhoni has set a standard that is quite unique. When Dhoni retired everyone was looking for his successor and Pant didn’t disappoint. Currently Rishabh Pant holds the record for the highest number of catches by a wicketkeeper in a test match. He achieved this feat in the first test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Adelaide as he took 11 catches, with 6 in the first innings and 5 in the second. This became the perfect example of catches to win matches as India won the following match by 31 runs.
- When it comes to catches then Pant has really got a hold of this form of cricket. Rishabh also has the highest number of catches by an Indian wicketkeeper in a test series. Pant took 20 catches in the same series in which he has the highest number of catches by a wicketkeeper in a test match. He went past the previous record which was jointly held by Naren Tamhane and Syed Kirmani, both with 19 dismissals in a test series.
- Pant is not only in the team for his wicketkeeping but also for his tremendous batting skills. He is the first ever Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in England and Australia and it shows the brilliance of this young man. Pant managed to score 114 runs off just 146 balls against England which was also his maiden international century in the test at the Oval. He also added a valuable 204 run partnership with KL Rahul in that innings.
- In 2019, India’s first ever test series win against Australia also saw a masterful knock from Pant. He scored 159 runs in 189 balls and put India in a great position. This is also his highest score in tests. It was his second century as he overtook Farokh Engineer’s 89 to claim the highest score by an Indian keeper down under.
- Once again for someone who is carrying the weight of expectations of filling the shoes of MS Dhoni. Pant has done good as both wicket keeper and the batsman. Pant is also the fastest Indian keeper to 50 test dismissals. The youngster achieved the record in just 11 test matches – a feat that Dhoni had achieved in 15 games.
Endnotes
Rishabh is at the early stages of his career but one thing is certain he is in the footsteps of becoming one of the greats. Already captaining Delhi Capitals in the IPL and playing promising knocks for team India. We hope he keeps on playing like this and creates his own legacy. We hope you like this blog on Rishabh Pant’s stats and accomplishments. Until next time, Goodbye!