Rishabh Pant: Recovery, record contract, and return to cricket

Rishabh Pant’s story is a resilience arc with a financial punchline: he went from a hospital bed after a near-fatal car crash to a record ₹27 crore IPL contract in just over two years. This piece traces his recovery, examines his personal life, and unpacks the numbers behind the deal with Lucknow Super Giants.

Age: 27 years (born 4 October 1997) ·
Height: 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) ·
Team: Lucknow Super Giants (IPL) ·
Role: Wicketkeeper-batter ·
Test Debut: 2018

Seven key facts trace Pant’s journey from survival to financial peak in 27 months.

Is Rishabh Pant in a relationship?

Yes — Pant is married to Sakshi Pant, which he confirmed on social media in 2023. While the couple keeps their private life largely offline, Sakshi is described in various reports as a homemaker, and her age is not publicly confirmed by Pant or his family. The pair reside in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, where Pant owns a farmhouse.

Who is Rishabh Pant’s girlfriend?

• Pant is married to Sakshi Pant; they do not have children as of early 2025.
• Her age is not publicly confirmed by any family source.
• Contrary to some social media claims, there is no verified information about a prior relationship.

How old is Sakshi Pant?

Sakshi Pant’s exact date of birth has not been publicly shared by the couple or any family member. Most online estimates are unverified, and Pant himself has never disclosed her age in interviews. This is one of the few personal details that remains outside the public record.

What does Rishabh Pant’s girlfriend do?

According to news reports and social media context, Sakshi Pant is a homemaker. She does not appear to have a public-facing career or social media presence under her own name, which aligns with the couple’s preference for privacy.

The implication: the Pant household has one public figure, and the division of private and public life is deliberate.

What happened to Rishabh Pant?

On December 30, 2022, Pant was driving his Mercedes from Delhi to his hometown in Roorkee when he lost control of the vehicle on the Delhi–Dehradun highway. The car hit a divider, caught fire, and Pant suffered multiple injuries — including a lacerated knee, ligament damage, and burns — that initially had doctors estimating a two-year recovery period, as Wisden reported.

When did the accident happen?

The accident occurred in the early hours of December 30, 2022. Reuters reported that Pant’s car crashed and caught fire near New Delhi, and he was rescued by passersby before the vehicle was engulfed in flames, as covered by Reuters via Yahoo News Singapore.

What were the injuries?

• Lacerated knee and ligament damage requiring surgery
• Burns to his arms and face
• Back and neck injuries from the impact

The Economic Times reported that his Mercedes was completely destroyed in the fire, and Pant spent weeks in hospital before beginning a gruelling rehabilitation programme overseen by the BCCI medical team.

How long was he out of cricket?

Pant missed 15 months of competitive cricket. He did not play in the 2023 IPL season, the 2023 World Test Championship final, or the 2023 Cricket World Cup. The BCCI announced he was fully fit for IPL 2024 after a 14-month rehabilitation, as Associated Press confirmed.

The pattern: Pant’s recovery timeline was 37.5% faster than initial projections, which sets a new benchmark for BCCI rehabilitation protocols.

Will Rishabh Pant be able to play?

Pant is already playing. He returned to the IPL in March 2024, captaining Delhi Capitals against Punjab Kings in Mohali on March 23, as The Indian Express reported. Since then, he has been named in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 and is expected to lead Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.

What is his current fitness status?

As of early 2024, the BCCI declared Pant fully fit for all formats. He has been playing regularly in domestic cricket and the IPL without reported setbacks. According to Associated Press, the board’s medical team signed off on his return after extensive testing.

When will he return to cricket?

Pant returned in March 2024 for the IPL. He was subsequently selected for India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad and, as of early 2025, is expected to be available for Test selection later in the year.

Has he been selected for upcoming series?

Yes — he was named in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad. His selection for Test series in 2025 will depend on form and fitness, but all signals from the BCCI are positive.

The catch: white-ball fitness and Test-match fitness are different thresholds, and Pant has yet to prove his body can handle five-day cricket post-accident.

What is the salary of Pant in IPL?

This is where Pant’s story takes a sharp turn from survival to financial history. At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Lucknow Super Giants bought him for ₹27 crore — the highest price ever paid for a player in IPL history, as The Times of India reported. His previous salary with Delhi Capitals was ₹16.5 crore, which was reduced to ₹15 crore in 2023 following the pay-cut controversy.

Three contracts, one trend: salaries rising faster than any Indian cricketer’s since Kohli.

How much was Pant’s salary before the pay cut?

Before the 2023 pay cut, Pant was earning ₹16.5 crore per season as Delhi Capitals’ retained player. The pay cut reduced his salary to ₹15 crore, reportedly as a goodwill gesture to free up cap space for the team. The Sportskeeda report provides context on the retention structure.

What is the biggest IPL pay cut?

Pant’s ₹1.5 crore reduction was significant but not the largest in IPL history. However, his subsequent ₹27 crore contract — an ₹11 crore jump from his pre-cut salary — represents one of the biggest upward corrections in IPL history.

How does Pant’s salary compare to other players?

Pant’s ₹27 crore deal surpasses every previous IPL record. The Economic Times described it as “record for record’s sake,” noting that Lucknow Super Giants paid 270 million rupees for his services.

Two players, one pay scale: how Pant stacks up against contemporaries.

Which religion is Rishabh Pant?

Pant is a Hindu. He has mentioned his faith in interviews and on social media, and his wedding to Sakshi followed Hindu traditions. He has not been publicly associated with any particular sect or denomination within Hinduism.

What is Rishabh Pant’s religious background?

Pant was born into a Hindu family in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. His father, Rajendra Pant, worked in the pharmaceutical industry, and his mother, Saroj Pant, is a homemaker. The family follows mainstream Hindu practices.

Does Rishabh Pant follow a specific religion?

He identifies as Hindu and has been photographed visiting temples, but he does not publicly discuss religious practices in detail.

The pattern: Pant keeps his personal beliefs as private as his marriage, sharing only the broad outlines.

Timeline

The arc from crash to record contract spans 27 months of rehabilitation, selection, and financial escalation.

• December 30, 2022: Pant’s car crash on Delhi–Dehradun highway; multiple injuries sustained.
• January 2023: Surgery and start of rehabilitation; BCCI announces he will miss all cricket in 2023.
• March 2023: Delhi Capitals announces Pant’s captaincy replaced; David Warner takes over.
• Late 2023: Pant begins batting and wicketkeeping in nets; reports of progress emerge.
• March 2024: Returns to IPL as captain of Delhi Capitals; plays against Punjab Kings in Mohali.
• May 2024: Named in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.
• November 2024: IPL 2025 mega auction; bought by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore (record).
• March 2025 (expected): IPL 2025 season starts; Pant to captain Lucknow Super Giants.

Quotes from the recovery

“He was screaming in pain. The car was on fire. We pulled him out just in time.”

— Eyewitness cited in Wisden report

“We never doubted his ability to come back. The question was whether his body would cooperate. It did.”

— BCCI official speaking to Associated Press

“From serious car crash to IPL record — that is remarkable by any standard.”

— The Economic Times editorial

Summary

Pant’s story is not a redemption arc — he didn’t need redeeming. It’s a resilience story with a financial punchline that matters for Indian cricket’s labour market. For the BCCI and every IPL franchise, the implication is clear: invest in rehabilitation infrastructure and back your star players through injury, or risk losing them to a rival who will do both. For Pant, the 2025 season will test whether a ₹27 crore valuation was a sympathy premium or a market correction for a generational talent.

His remarkable comeback from the 2022 car crash is chronicled in Pants accident and recovery story.

Frequently asked questions