Early years (2017–19) |left|thumb In January 2017, Pant was named in India's
Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series
against England. He made his debut for India in the third T20I against England at the
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium,
Bangalore on 1 February 2017. Pant was the then youngest player to debut for India in a T20I match at the age of 19 years 120 days. In February 2018, he was named in India's T20I squad for the
2018 Nidahas Trophy. In July 2018, Pant was named in India's
Test squad for the series
against England. He made his Test debut against
England on 18 August 2018. He became the first batter for India to get off the mark in Test cricket with a six in the series. On 11 September 2018, Pant scored his maiden Test century, against
England also becoming the second-youngest
wicket-keeper and the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England. The following month, he was named in India's
One Day International (ODI) squad for their series
against the West Indies. He made his ODI debut for India against the
West Indies on 21 October 2018. In December 2018, during the
first Test against Australia, Pant took eleven catches, the most by a wicketkeeper for India in a Test match. In January 2019, during the
fourth Test against Australia, Pant became the first wicketkeeper for India to score a century in a Test match in Australia. In June 2019, Pant was called up to
India's squad at the
2019 Cricket World Cup as a replacement for
Shikhar Dhawan, who suffered a hairline fracture of his left thumb during India's game against Australia. Following the World Cup, the
International Cricket Council (ICC) named Pant as the rising star of the squad. In September 2019, during the
second Test against the West Indies, Pant became the fastest wicketkeeper for India to affect fifty dismissals in Test cricket. In January 2021, during the
fourth Test against Australia, Pant became the fastest wicketkeeper for India to reach 1,000 runs in Test cricket.
Form slump (2019–20) The
2019–20 home season was billed as an important season for Pant with
MS Dhoni announcing a hiatus from international cricket. India went into the season in search of a new wicket-keeping mainstay with Pant as one of the front-runners. However, ordinary performances from the left-hander and the emergence of
KL Rahul as a wicket-keeping option meant that Pant slipped down the pecking order. A dismal show in the
2020 IPL season didn't help either. Pant, who had scored a cumulative 1172 runs with a
strike rate of 168 in the last two seasons, only managed to amass 343 runs with a strike rate of 113. His only fifty came in the finals in a losing cause. Pant was consequently dropped from the limited-overs team touring
Australia in 2020–21. He, however, kept his place in the Test team but did not make it to the playing eleven of the first Test in Adelaide. During this period, Pant was heavily criticized by fans and the media. Disdainful comparisons with Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni were often brought up. There were instances of the crowd chanting
"Dhoni! Dhoni!" when Pant made a mistake on the field.
Return to form (2021–22) India was bowled out for 36 in the second innings of the first Test of the
Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020–21 and hence lost the test by 8 wickets despite getting a healthy first-innings lead. Following this, Rishabh Pant was picked ahead of
Wriddhiman Saha for the second test in
Melbourne. While Pant scored 29 in the first innings of the Melbourne Test, it was at
Sydney that he played a career-changing knock. With 97 overs to survive on the last day, he played a counter-attacking knock of 97 runs off just 118 balls, also putting up a 148-run partnership with
Cheteshwar Pujara. The match ultimately ended in a
draw. India had many first-choice players unavailable due to injury, and were the underdogs going into the match played in
The Gabba where Australia had not been defeated since 1988. Pant put in a match-winning performance on day five, as India chased down a target of 328 in the fourth innings, scoring an unbeaten 89. At the annual
ICC Awards in January 2022, Pant was named in
ICC Men's Test Team of the Year for 2021. In March 2022, during the second match
against Sri Lanka, Pant scored the fastest half-century by a batter for India in a Test match, breaking the record previously held by
Kapil Dev. He brought up his half-century in just 28 deliveries. In May 2022, Pant was named as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the
South Africa tour of India 2022 series. However, one day before the first match of the series, Pant was named as the captain, after India's captain
KL Rahul was ruled of the series out due to an injury. At the age of 24 years and 248 days, Pant became the second-youngest captain to lead India in a T20I match. In July 2022, in the final match of
India's tour of England, Pant recorded his maiden
century in ODI cricket scoring 125 runs and remaining
not out.
Return to international cricket and Test vice-captaincy (2024–present) In April 2024, Pant was added to India's squad for the T20 World Cup in June, marking his maiden comeback to international cricket following his horror car crash in late 2022. His game management was praised as a critical part of India's victory in
the final against South Africa. In June 2025, he became the first Indian cricketer to score hundreds in both innings of a Test in England. Also, he became the second wicket keeper batter to smash centuries in both innings of a single test match after
Andy Flower. He became the fastest Indian wicketkeeper to complete 3,000 runs by completing it in 76 innings in Tests. He achieved all these records by slamming twin centuries in the 1st Test at
Headingley as part of the 5-match Test Series from June–August 2025 for the
Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy . == 2022 car crash ==