Rishabh Pant has 3,865 runs in 139 IPL matches, but the raw total hides two very different careers stitched together. This is his complete season-by-season record, the breakout year that reset the format, the two centuries that defined him, and an honest read on whether the most expensive buy in IPL history has been worth it. See where his tally lands on the all-time IPL run-scorers list.
Quick Answer - Rishabh Pant IPL Career
Rishabh Pant has 3,865 runs in 139 IPL matches at an average of 33.61 and a strike rate of 146.79, with two centuries and 20 fifties since his 2016 debut. Signed by Lucknow Super Giants for a record 27 crore, he is the most expensive player in IPL history. The season-by-season table below shows where those runs came from, and why two lean years for a record fee changed the conversation.
हिन्दी: पंत आईपीएल के सबसे महंगे खिलाड़ी हैं (27 करोड़ रुपये), लेकिन एलएसजी के लिए दो सीज़न में उनका स्ट्राइक रेट 140 से नीचे रहा।
Stats verified via ESPNcricinfo and the official IPL site, updated 19 July 2026.
Rishabh Pant's IPL Career Journey
Delhi Daredevils picked an 18-year-old Pant for 1.9 crore at the 2016 auction, on the same day he made a hundred to send India into the Under-19 World Cup semi-final. His debut season was modest, 198 runs in 10 games, but it did not stay that way. He struck at 165.61 in 2017, produced one of the great IPL seasons in 2018, and quickly became Delhi Capitals' all-time leading run-scorer.
Pant took over the Delhi captaincy in 2021 and led them to the playoffs. A near-fatal car accident in December 2022 then cost him the entire 2023 season. He returned in 2024 with 446 runs, before Lucknow made him the most expensive player in auction history. Two seasons at LSG have been the quietest of his career, and after they finished bottom in 2026 he stepped down as captain. At 28, the 27 crore question is still open.
Rishabh Pant Season-by-Season IPL Stats
The shape is unmistakable: a three-year peak from 2017 to 2019, a dip on the slow UAE pitches, a strong 2024, then two flat years at Lucknow.
| Season | Team | Matches | Runs | Average | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | DC | 10 | 198 | 24.75 | 130.26 |
| 2017 | DC | 14 | 366 | 26.14 | 165.61 |
| 2018 | DC | 14 | 684 | 52.62 | 173.60 |
| 2019 | DC | 16 | 488 | 37.54 | 162.67 |
| 2020 | DC | 14 | 343 | 31.18 | 113.95 |
| 2021 | DC | 16 | 419 | 34.92 | 128.53 |
| 2022 | DC | 14 | 340 | 30.91 | 151.79 |
| 2023 | - | - | - | - | Absent (injury) |
| 2024 | DC | 13 | 446 | 40.55 | 155.40 |
| 2025 | LSG | 14 | 269 | 24.45 | 133.17 |
| 2026 | LSG | 14 | 312 | 28.36 | 138.05 |
| Career | DC, LSG | 139 | 3,865 | 33.61 | 146.79 |
Rishabh Pant's Best IPL Season
Nothing else in Pant's IPL career comes close to 2018. He scored 684 runs in 14 matches at an average of 52.62 and a strike rate of 173.60, second only to Kane Williamson in that season's run charts. It remains the benchmark every other Pant season is measured against, the year a 20-year-old turned the wicketkeeper-batter role into something rival teams had to plan around before a ball was bowled.
The signature knock came on 10 May 2018 against Sunrisers Hyderabad: an unbeaten 128 off 63 balls, a fifty in 36 and a hundred in 56, at the time the highest score by an Indian in men's T20s. He took 26 off the final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar alone. It went in vain, as Shikhar Dhawan and Williamson chased down 188 without breaking stride, but it still ranks high among the biggest individual scores in IPL history.
Where Pant Ranks Among IPL's Greats
Here is the pattern nobody puts on a highlight reel: both of Pant's IPL centuries arrived when the season was already lost. The 128* in 2018 came with Delhi almost out of the playoff race; the 118* against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2025 came in LSG's final league game, their playoff hopes long gone. When the stakes vanish, the best version of Pant shows up. That is the puzzle that keeps him a notch below the truly great IPL batters. The talent belongs in any conversation, but a career built for the big moment has produced its biggest innings in dead rubbers.
Rishabh Pant: Delhi Years vs Lucknow Years
Delhi Years (2016-2024)
- Matches, runs: 111, 3,284
- Peak season: 684 runs at 173.60 SR (2018)
- Franchise record: DC's all-time leading run-scorer
- Captaincy: led DC to the 2021 playoffs
Lucknow Years (2025-2026)
- Matches, runs: 28, 581
- Strike rates: 133.17 and 138.05
- Centuries: one (118* vs RCB, 2025)
- Outcome: no playoff berth, stepped down as captain
IPL Records and Milestones Held by Rishabh Pant
- Most expensive player in IPL auction history: 27 crore, signed by Lucknow Super Giants at the 2025 mega auction.
- Delhi Capitals' all-time leading IPL run-scorer, with 3,284 runs across nine seasons for the franchise.
- Reached 1,000 IPL runs at 20 years and 218 days, among the youngest to the milestone.
- 181 sixes and 349 fours in his IPL career, so far - see where that sits on the most sixes in IPL history list.
- 20 dismissals as wicketkeeper in 2019 (15 catches, 5 stumpings), one of the busiest single seasons behind the stumps.
- 112 IPL dismissals in all (89 catches, 23 stumpings), keeping him prominent on the most catches in IPL history list.
Rishabh Pant in IPL 2026 and What Comes Next
IPL 2026 followed the same script. Pant made 312 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 138.05, with a single fifty against Sunrisers Hyderabad his only score of note. Lucknow finished bottom of the table with four wins from 14, level on points with Mumbai Indians but behind on net run rate, and missed the playoffs for a third straight year.
The captaincy was the first casualty. Pant stepped down as LSG skipper after the season, ending a two-year experiment that never produced a playoff berth. He stays under contract on the same 27 crore deal through the three-year cycle, so 2027 looms as the season that decides whether Lucknow's biggest bet was worth making. On talent, few would bet against him. On the evidence of two seasons, the doubts are real.
Rishabh Pant is the most gifted wicketkeeper-batter India has produced since MS Dhoni, and the peak years prove it: 684 runs in 2018, two of the most destructive centuries the league has seen, a role he invented for himself at Delhi. On pure ability he belongs in any all-time IPL XI debate. But the 27 crore tag narrowed him. His two Lucknow seasons carried the weight of the price, and his instincts, the thing that made him special, showed up only when the pressure was off. Stepping down as captain might help. Free him from the leadership load and the number below the price, and the batter who lit up 2018 could return. I would still back that bet, with one eye on 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions - Rishabh Pant IPL Stats
How many runs has Rishabh Pant scored in IPL?
Rishabh Pant has 3,865 runs in 139 IPL matches at an average of 33.61 and a strike rate of 146.79. He has scored two centuries and 20 fifties since his 2016 debut, with a highest score of 128 not out.
Why did Rishabh Pant step down as LSG captain?
Pant resigned as Lucknow Super Giants captain after IPL 2026, when the team finished bottom of the table and missed the playoffs for a third straight season. His own returns with the bat, 269 runs in 2025 and 312 in 2026, were well below expectations for the side's marquee signing.
Was Rishabh Pant worth 27 crore for LSG?
On results, not yet. Across two seasons for his record 27 crore fee, Pant scored 581 runs at strike rates of 133.17 and 138.05, and LSG missed the playoffs both times. The talent that produced 684 runs in 2018 keeps the long-term case alive, but the early returns do not match the price.
What is Rishabh Pant's highest IPL score?
Pant's highest IPL score is 128 not out off 63 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, at the time the highest score by an Indian in men's T20 cricket. His second century, 118 not out against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, came for LSG in 2025.
Which IPL teams has Rishabh Pant played for?
Pant played for Delhi (Daredevils, then Capitals) from 2016 to 2024, where he is the franchise's all-time leading run-scorer, and missed 2023 after a car accident. He has played for Lucknow Super Giants since 2025 as their record signing and, until IPL 2026, their captain.
The Bottom Line
Rishabh Pant's IPL career splits cleanly in two. The Delhi years, 3,284 runs, the franchise scoring record, the 2018 masterclass and two of the format's most violent centuries, confirm a batter with a genuine claim to greatness. The Lucknow years, two seasons under a 140 strike rate for a record 27 crore, tell a harder story, one that cost him the captaincy. What is not in doubt is the ceiling. The record fee simply raised the bar he now has to clear, and 2027 is where he clears it or he does not.
