"Car lenge badhiya si" - When Rishabh Pant opened up on his desire to buy a 4-wheeler with his first IPL salary
Rishabh Pant has carved a niche for himself in international cricket with his fearless approach in a very short time. He has taken his game to a new level and is currently India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter across formats.
Pant first grabbed attention during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The southpaw amassed 267 runs, including a 96-ball 111 against Namibia that propelled India to the semi-finals, in six matches at an average of 44.50.
Hours after his exploits against Namibia, the youngster fetched ₹1.9 crore at the IPL 2016 auction. Delhi Daredevils (now known as Delhi Capitals) and Mumbai Indians were engaged in an intense bidding war before the former roped in the left-handed batter.
When asked about what he intended to buy immediately with the money at the time, Pant expressed that he wanted to purchase a house and a car.
In an interview with Indian Express in 2016, Pant said:
"I want to buy a house and a car. Car lenge badiya si. (laughs) I don’t know much about what car to buy or how much they cost. Now I’ve realized cricket khelne ka time cricket khelo, the other things will take care of itself."
Years later, Pant revealed that he always wanted the i20 to be his first car, irrespective of his earnings. Speaking about his love for cars in an interview with Indian Express, the southpaw revealed:
“For some reason, I have always loved that car from childhood. Gaya hoga usmey, yaad nahi ab but all I knew was that it would be my first car. Even if I have 100 crores, I wanted to buy that."
An automobile enthusiast, Pant now owns an Audi A8, Mercedes Benz C-Class, Ford Mustang, and Mercedes GLE.
Rishabh Pant picked in India's Asia Cup 2022 squad
Pant will return to action in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which gets underway on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). India will begin their campaign on August 28 against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai.
The southpaw was rested from the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe following a busy schedule over the last couple of months.
Pant will hope to fare well in the Asia Cup, with the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to take place in Australia later this year.
to glory? 🤔 
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India's squad for the 2022 Asia Cup 💪
Will they lead 🇮🇳 to glory? 🤔
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India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan.