"Today, people are more focused on the IPL" - Rishabh Pant analyzes the impact of India's cash-rich T20 league

Team India keeper-batter Rishabh Pant has candidly admitted that the current generation of players is more focused on the IPL. While terming the Indian T20 league as a great platform, he opined that the ultimate goal of any player must be to play for the country and that everything else has to come after that.

Pant created history at the IPL 2025 mega auction, becoming the costliest buy in the history of the T20 league. The dynamic left-handed batter was purchased by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping ₹27 crore. He was subsequently also named captain of the franchise.

Speaking to JioHotstar, the 27-year-old shared his thoughts on the influence of the IPL among players (as quoted by PTI):

"Since childhood, I had only one dream -- to play for India. I never even thought about playing in the IPL. I think today, people are more focused on the IPL. Of course, it's a great platform, but I believe that if your goal is to play for your country, everything else -- including the IPL -- will eventually fall into place."

"If you have that bigger mindset, success will follow. I always believed that I would play for India one day, and God has been kind. At 18, I got the opportunity to make my debut, and I am grateful for that," the stumper went on to add.

Pant was part of Team India's 15-man 2025 Champions Trophy squad. While the Men in Blue won the tournament by remaining undefeated, the keeper-batter was benched for all the matches.

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Rishabh Pant's stats in the IPL

Pant made his IPL debut in the 2016 season for Delhi Capitals (DC) and went on to represent the franchise till the 2024 edition. In 111 matches so far, he has notched up 3,284 runs at an average of 35.31 and a strike rate of 148.93, with one hundred and 18 half-centuries to his credit.

The southpaw's best of 128* came off only 63 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Delhi in the 2018 edition. Pant clobbered 15 fours and seven sixes in his brutal knock. The stunning performance, however, went in vain as SRH won the contest by nine wickets, chasing down a target of 188 in 18.5 overs courtesy of Shikhar Dhawan's 92* off 50 and Kane Williamson's 83* off 53.