Delhi had quite a dramatic start to their Ranji Trophy 2015-16 season. Just before everything kicked off, Ajay Jadeja stepped down as the head coach. He made some pretty strong claims about players being used to settle scores within the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jadeja only managed a few training sessions before deciding to walk away.
Amid all this, a young Rishabh Pant was waiting in the wings. He made his first-class debut halfway through the season after not being picked initially. Jadeja remembers trying to persuade Pant to join the training sessions after he was left out of the squad. But Pant, at just 18 years old, confidently brushed it off, saying if the team needed him, they’d call him.
“I will always remember our first meeting, Jadeja shared on Sony Sports. “I was coach for just a few days before quitting. The selectors and the captain were arguing about who should be in the team. Pant wasn’t selected, but I still told him to come to practice. I reassured him that even though he wasn’t picked, there would be a chance in the future. He simply said, ‘Bhaiya rehne do na, jab zaroorat padegi, ghar se bulayenge’ (Let it be. When they need me, they will call me from home).
As luck would have it, Pant got his shot in Delhi’s fourth match of the season and made his debut against Bengal in a drawn game at home. He scored 28 runs in the first innings and followed that up with 57 in the second. So far, he’s played 18 first-class matches for Delhi, racking up 1413 runs at an average of 54.34, including four centuries and four half-centuries.
In his second Ranji Trophy season, Pant hit the headlines with an impressive triple-century – 308 against Maharashtra at Wankhede Stadium when he was just 19.