Rishabh Pant’s name first appeared in Indian cricket discussions nearly 9 and a half years ago, when the wicketkeeper-batsman made a double impact in a single day. This was on February 6, 2016, when Pant scored a blistering 111 runs against Namibia in the Under-19 World Cup quarter-final in Fatullah, Bangladesh, taking India to the semi-finals. As soon as Pant scored the century, he was showered with crores of rupees in the IPL 2016 season auction in Bengaluru. The player, who created a sensation at the age of 18, turned 28 on October 4th and continues to surprise everyone.
Born on October 4, 1997, in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Rishabh Pant made his place in the Indian team in 2017. However, the foundation of his cricket career was laid in Delhi, which involved Pant’s hard work, his family’s courage, and his coach’s advice, as well as the significant role played by a famous gurudwara. Pant started playing the game during a time when MS Dhoni, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman, was dominating Indian and international cricket. Like Dhoni, Pant chose to be a wicketkeeper, but being from a small town also became a hurdle for him.
In Uttarakhand, there wasn’t much in terms of cricket because there was no organized cricket association or state team. In such a situation, Rishabh Pant’s family decided to send him to Delhi to try his luck. Rishabh was only 12 years old when he started traveling to Delhi by night bus, and his mother, Saroj Pant, played the biggest role in this, who always took her innocent son to Delhi so that he could learn cricket under the supervision of the legendary coach of Sonnet Cricket Club, Tarak Sinha.
But Pant’s family had no relatives in this city, nor were they financially so well-off that they could always book hotels. In such a situation, Rishabh and his mother took shelter in the famous Gurudwara Moti Bagh Sahib in South Delhi. It was here that Rishabh Pant built his cricket career, staying for many nights, eating food in the langar, and then going to the academy for practice. Although a gurudwara is found in every corner of the world, such shelter is available everywhere, but Moti Bagh Sahib is very special in itself because it is associated with the 10th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
It is believed that Guru Gobind Singh, while coming to meet the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah in 1707, set up his camp at this place. From here, he fired an arrow, which fell about 8 miles away, right near Bahadur Shah’s feet, which surprised the Mughal emperor. Guru Gobind Singh Ji stayed here for many days, and that is why Moti Bagh Sahib has a lot of importance.
Now consider it fate, consider it recognition or just a coincidence, there is no less bravery in Pant, who made his cricket career by taking shelter in the gurudwara associated with Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Pant’s father passed away during the IPL season in 2017, but after enduring such a huge shock at the age of just 19 and performing the last rites of his father, Pant went to Bengaluru within 24 to 48 hours and played a fighting innings of 57 runs in 36 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on behalf of Delhi Daredevils.
