With the name RISHABH PANT becoming a household name with every knock that he plays. Here we will take a look at the often ignored journey of the charismatic cricketer!
Many words like “immature” and “thoughtless” have been thrown at him. And he replied to them in the best way possible. A record-breaking inning of 159 unbeaten runs from 189 balls speaks volumes in itself. This is the highest score by an Indian keeper outside the subcontinent. In the meanwhile, becoming the second highest scorer of the series with 350 runs just behind Pujara. Here is the story of a 21-year old boy from Haridwar which will undoubtedly inspire many:
Initial stage:
Rishabh Pant hails from a small village in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. He was born on 4 October 1997. His parents came to know about his knack for the game initially only. And that's the reason why he was sent to Rajasthan in search of better infrastructure and facilities. In the short stint there, he failed to impress any of his coaches. Then, he finally settled in Delhi.
The Sonnet Club and his guru:
He was admitted into the top club in Delhi- The Sonnet Club. There he was developed by Tarak Sinha. The veteran coach who has produced more than a hundred First-class players and also twelve international players. These numbers are unmatched by even the best of names like Dronacharya Awardees D.P. Azad and Ramakant Achrekar. The players include Virendra Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, and Ashish Nehra. He played an Under-12 tournament and blasted three centuries and clinched the Player of the Tournament award there. Taking this into consideration, the club then sent him to the Air Force School on scholarship which was the best school for his overall development both as a player and as a human too.
U-19 World Cup and Ranji Trophy: The little boy from Haridwar never looked backed and kept on piling runs. He broke record after record at U14 to U19 level and made his way into the Under-19 side in 2016. He first came into limelight when he scored the fastest 50 in the history of the U19 World Cup, reaching it in just 18 balls against Nepal. He made his First-Class debut in 2016 itself. If you take a keen interest in the domestic matches, you would know that not every player make it at the age of 18! In his second match in Ranji Trophy, a 71-ball 57 showed some glimpses what this boy had in him. He scored more than a thousand runs in his debut season itself which consisted of four tons. This also included a 48-ball century against Jharkhand which was the fastest in the history of the tournament itself. And the 326- ball 308 runs knock against the mighty Maharashtra team was the pick of the lot.
IPL 2018: In the 2017 Auction for the Indian Premier League, Pant was picked by the then-Delhi Daredevils ( now Delhi Capitals) for 1.9 Crores. A whopping 19 times over his 10 lakhs price tag. But it was never like a fairytale journey for him. Just two days before his IPL debut, his father died due to a heart attack. Then comes the incident which will continue to inspire generations. Just 48 hours after performing the last rites of his father, he was back again on the pitch and made his debut in the IPL. And even went on to score a half-century. He is a man of steel and this particular incident showed his commitment to the game. But it was the 2018 IPL in which he showcased his full array of shot-making abilities and gave a little insight into what this guy is up to. He was on fire throughout the tournament hitting a staggering 37 sixes and 68 fours. This included 5 fifties at an amazing average of 52.61. He scored a total of 684 runs in 14 matches, just 51 runs behind the orange cap holder Kane Williamson. Note that Williamson took three more innings to reach 735.
India had the luxury of having the best wicket-keeper batsman of the last decade and looks like that it is not gonna end anytime soon!
Video: Rishabh Pant in an interview
