Business

Meet youngest Indian T20I player Rishabh Pant

By Sreya Basu

Posted on February 2, 2017

Share

Tweet

Share

Share

Email

Comments

At 19 years of age, Rishabh Pant became the youngest ever cricketer to play for the Indian T20 International (T20I) team.

On Wednesday, he received his first blue India cap by former cricketer Saba Karim to play a three-match series with England.

Here are 10 facts to know about youngest Indian T20I player Rishabh Pant:

1. Born on Oct 4, 1997 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant was 12 when he found his mentor Tarak Sinha, who had earlier coached cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.

2. It was Tarak Sinha who advised him to move to Rajasthan to get a better opportunity to make his name in cricket.

3. Pant was allegedly thrown out of a cricket academy in Rajasthan for being an “outsider”. However, he went on to represent Rajasthan at U14 and U16 levels.

4. In a match against Maharashtra at Ranji Trophy 2016-17, he scored 308 runs off 326 balls to become the third youngest Indian batsman (after Wasim Jaffer and Abhinav Mukund) and fourth youngest overall to hit a triple century in First-Class cricket.

5. His run score of 308 is the second highest score by an individual for Delhi in Ranji Trophy. It was late Raman Lamba who had hit a 312 against Himachal Pradesh in 1994.

6. Rishabh is an admirer of former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist and is said to be influenced by his aggressive batting and wicket-keeping.

7. On Feb 6, 2016, Delhi Daredevils bought him for Rs 1.9 crore to play the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the team. Rishabh Pant scored 198 runs in 10 IPL matches.

8. On Feb 1, 2016, during the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, Rishabh Pant hit a fastest 50 off 18 balls.

9. Just months before his 18th birthday, the now youngest Indian T20I player Rishabh Pant, made his First-Class debut for Delhi where he hit 57 in the second innings against Bengal.

10. On November 2016, Rishabh Pant hit 100 off 48 balls for Delhi in a match against Jharkhand. This was the fastest ever century in the Ranji Trophy.

Big Wire