From rising star to IPL team captain - the inspiring journey of Rishabh Pant

From opening the batting for India at the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2016 and landing an IPL contract to his international debuts in the next two years, Pant - whose explosive strikes with the bat have lifted Team India out of extremely tricky situations lately - finds himself captaining the IPL side that first snapped him up, the Delhi Capitals.

Pant, one of the youngsters from Rahul Dravid's 'Class of 2016' has gone through numerous sacrifices to get to where he currently stands.

Arduous journeys from Roorkee to New Delhi, an overhaul of his batting technique during his teenage years, and the loss of his father just as his rise was about to begin. It was his father's dream to see his son make it as an India international.

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While the sacrifices helped him reach senior international cricket, it is the immense progress that he has shown in ODIs and Tests over the last few years that have sealed a spot for him in Team India.

The 23-year-old's unbeaten 159 at Sydney during the fourth and final Test in the 2018-19 tour of Australia was a defining moment for Indian cricket. With India leading 2-1, all that India needed was a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground to take home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and Pant delivered the knockout blow.

On the same ground two years later, Pant's knock of 97 in the third Test with the series tied 1-1 helped India (Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari's resolute stand notwithstanding) to draw the Test and push the series into a final showdown at The Gabba.

Pant dazzled once again at the long-feared Gabba with an 89 not out as India conquered Australian soil once again.

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A wicketkeeper-batsman who was labelled as more of a batter than a wicketkeeper, Pant's shotmaking choices were frequently questioned and he has been in and out of the white-ball set-up. Pant's recent history-making exploits have now ensured that he will be one of the first names on the team sheet in the days to come.

A century in the second Test against England in Chennai and two crucial half-centuries in the last two ODIs have caused the cricketing greats to write poems of praise for Pant.

Pakistan cricketing great Inzamam-ul-Haq said he believed that Pant could surpass legends like M S Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist. Former India skipper Mohammed Azharuddin has backed Pant as a future captain of Team India.

And this is the first step. Welcome, Rishabh Pant, captain of the Delhi Capitals in 2021.