Rishabh Pant is an enigma in Indian cricket. The 28-year-old left-handed batter and wicket keeper has been through a rollercoaster ride in his cricket career. After gaining attention through his performances in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, he soon became a key player for India.
By nature, Pant is an attacking, free-flowing batter who maintains his high-risk game even in Test cricket. Despite his unconventional approach, his record in the red-ball game remained impressive, and he even achieved the rare feat of scoring two hundreds in the same Test match during the last England tour in 2025. In 49 Tests, Pant has delivered several memorable innings, including an unbeaten 89 at the Gabba in 2021 that secured India’s historic win over Australia.
Due to his reputation for playing with a wide range of shots and scoring at a brisk pace, people expected Pant to become even more successful in T20 cricket. However, the spark seemed to have faded with time. Pant started to struggle to live up to the expectations.
He also faced setbacks from injuries, including a nearly fatal car accident that sidelined him for over a year and caused him to miss the 2023 One Day International World Cup at home. Once he recovered, Pant returned immediately to both white-ball teams, playing ODIs and T20Is, and was part of the squad during India’s successful 2024 T20 World Cup campaign.
But, lack of impactful performances and increasing competition for the wicket-keeper role in limited-overs cricket led to Pant being dropped from the national team after the Sri Lanka tour in July-August 2024.
For Pant, the Indian Premier League arrives with another chance to showcase his T20 skills. Lucknow Super Giants appointed him captain after spending INR 27 Crore on him in the 2025 auction. But Pant managed to score only 151 runs in 13 matches before an unbeaten 118 in the final game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Despite his effort, LSG lost and finished seventh with just six wins.
In the last two years, several wicketkeepers have made their mark for India in the white-ball game. Sanju Samson has become the latest sensation after his heroics in the 2026 T20 World Cup earlier this month. Even Samson had to fight with players like Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma, and KL Rahul to make the cut.
Pant is still young, and the current cricket landscape, with its packed international schedules, can offer opportunities to represent India in limited-overs formats at any moment. For now, his immediate focus will be to contribute significantly to his IPL team, Lucknow Super Giants, aiming to guide the team to a respectable finish in IPL 2026. This will also help him reaffirm his value and potentially open the door for a return to India’s national side.
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