To draw parallels of someone with Virender Sehwag is big; it can be the biggest compliment for a cricketer in his lifetime. The Haridwar-youngster has actually made a name for himself in cricket and done it quickly at a rapid rate. He bats at the top of the order like the ‘Sultan of Multan’, smashing the ball with utmost disdain. Meet the 19-year-old wicket-keeper batsman, Rishabh Pant. News has just come in that he is going to lead Delhi in the Vijay Hazare match against Tamil Nadu. Ashish Nehra also gets a place and Unmukt Chand has been snubbed. This will give Rishabh Pant a chance to show his mettle on the field against a formidable Tamil Nadu outfit.
The journey has been an uphill ride for the Delhi opener, who was vying for a franchise in last years IPL auctions. When he started out, he had to shift base from Roorkee to Delhi to Rajasthan, only to return to Delhi. He has represented an IPL side—he is also a part of the Delhi Daredevils franchise in the under the mentorship of his U-19 coach, Rahul Dravid.
He had a base price of Rs 10 lakhs last year, in the lowest bracket and sold for a whopping Rs 1.90 cr. Of late, his performances must have caught the eyes of the franchise owners. A year after making his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 18 in 2015, Pant broke records by scoring a triple-hundred against Maharashtra and a blistering 48-ball hundred against Jharkhand in the 2016-17 first-class season. Lately, he was rewarded with a call-up to India’s T20 squad for the three home matches against England as well.
So, it seems things are looking bright for the young prodigy since teams like Delhi Daredevils also has Rahul Dravid as its mentor who has seen Rishabh come up through the ranks.
