Rishabh Pant wants to move back home, seeks Uttarakhand CM's help

Rishabh Pant made a personal appeal to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami via an X post, for help to buy land in his native state. The India star wants to move his base from Delhi and build his first home in Uttarakhand.Pant said he has been searching for suitable land for three years. (Photo: PTI)Rishabh Pant made an unusual public appeal to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the early hours of Saturday, asking for help in acquiring land in his home state. The India wicketkeeper-batter said he wants to move his base from Delhi, build his first home in Uttarakhand and eventually contribute to the state.Pant, currently in Sri Lanka with India's Test squad, addressed Dhami directly on X, saying he had spent the past three years looking for suitable land. Despite his efforts, he said he had been unable to find a property that met his requirements.The 28-year-old stressed that his motivation was not simply to own a house, but to return to his roots and be closer to the people and place he considers home. "I have been trying to buy land to shift my base from Delhi to Uttarakhand and I couldn't find anything facilitating and big to live here. I love my Uttarakhand," Pant wrote.He then made a direct appeal to the Chief Minister. "My humble request to you is please help me in land acquisition... I wanna move back to my native place to help and build around Uttarakhand and I want to shift back to my Pahadi people. Please look into this matter, it's been 3 years," he said.'I WANT TO BUY IT FROM GOVERNMENT'Pant later clarified an important part of his request. He said he was not seeking land as a complimentary gesture and was willing to purchase it from the government at the applicable rates."A gift would be lovely for representing our state at the highest level internationally, but if you allow me I wanna buy it from Government and on their rates. At least I can have my first house built in my own state," Pant wrote.The posts quickly gained attention on social media, with the India star's direct appeal to the Uttarakhand government becoming a talking point.Born in Roorkee in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, Pant began his cricket journey in the state before moving to Delhi to pursue the game professionally. He continues to represent Delhi in domestic cricket but has maintained a strong connection with Uttarakhand.PANT'S UTTARAKHAND CONNECTIONThe timing of the appeal also comes shortly after Pant was reported to be Uttarakhand's highest individual taxpayer for the 2025-26 financial year. He reportedly paid Rs 23.84 crore in income tax, topping the state's individual taxpayer list for the second consecutive year.Pant's earnings include his BCCI contract, match fees, IPL salary and commercial endorsements. He was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore, while he was a Grade A BCCI-contracted player during the assessed period.The wicketkeeper-batter has also been associated with brands including Adidas, Dream11, SG, Thums Up, Cadbury, boAt, Noise, Zomato, JSW Cement and MakeMyTrip.For Pant, however, the latest appeal appears to be about something more personal: finding a way back to the place where his cricketing journey began.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 8, 2026 08:04 IST