In 2016, a young cricketer from Uttarakhand, hogged the limelight after he slammed an 18-ball fifty against Nepal in a Group D match during the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Mirpur, Bangladesh.

Opening the batting, the flamboyant southpaw smashed 78 off just 24 balls, laced with nine fours and five maximums. Having played an instrumental role in India Under-19’s comprehensive seven-wicket victory in that game, the teenager was later adjudged the Player of the Match.

With 267 runs in six matches at an average of 44.50 and a strike rate of 104.29 in the Under-19 tournament, the swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter showcased glimpses of his incredible capabilities.

Earlier, the hard-hitting left-hander made his first-class debut for Delhi on October 22, 2015, and then ended up featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and later shattered multiple records for the Indian senior cricket team.

As Rishabh Pant turned 28 on Saturday, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper has become one of the most exciting and fearless cricketers in world cricket.

Since his international debut in 2017, Pant has amassed 3,427 runs in 47 Tests, including eight hundreds and 18 half-centuries.

In limited-overs cricket, he has accumulated 1,209 runs in 76 T20Is, comprising three fifties, while scoring 871 runs in 31 ODIs, with one ton and five fifties.

Pant has also managed 244 dismissals as a wicketkeeper/fielder in international cricket.

He was also part of the Indian squad that won the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Apart from international cricket, Pant has emerged as a match-winner in the IPL. The dashing left-hander has accrued 3,553 runs in 125 matches at a strike rate of 147.61, featuring two centuries and 19 half-centuries.

As we celebrate our skipper’s 28th birthday, let’s take a deep dive into some of the special facts that highlight his inspirational journey.

→ Born on October 4, 1997, Pant was born to Rajendra Pant and Saroj Pant in Roorkee, Uttarakhand.

→ At the age of 12, Pant travelled with his mother to Delhi to train with his coach Tarak Sinha at the Sonnet Cricket Academy.

→ Pant and his mother stayed at a Gurdwara in Moti Bagh as they did not have proper accommodation in the city.

→ He rose to prominence during an U-19 cricket game for Delhi against Assam. Pant scored 35 in the first innings and followed it with a magnificent 150 in the second innings, which he claimed to be the most important knock in his career.

→ Pant was the vice-captain of the Indian team at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup held in Bangladesh. India later finished runners-up in the tournament.

→ Pant made his international debut against England in a T20I in Bengaluru in February 2017. A year later, he made his Test debut against the same opposition in Nottingham in August. Pant later played his first ODI versus West Indies in Guwahati in October.

→ On the same day Pant was signed for the first time in the IPL, he scored a century for the India U-19 team at the 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup to guide them to the semi-finals.

→ Pant became the first Asian wicketkeeper-batter to score 2,000 runs in SENA countries.

→ He holds the record for the fastest Test half-century for India. He clobbered a 28-ball fifty against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022.

→ Pant also shares the record for the most sixes (90) by an Indian in Test cricket with Virender Sehwag.