Rishabh Pant asks Uttarakhand CM for help acquiring land to return home

Rishabh Pant made a public appeal to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the early hours of Saturday, asking for assistance to acquire land in his home state and posting the request on X while in Sri Lanka with India's Test squad. He said he wants to shift his base from Delhi and build his first home in Uttarakhand.

Pant said he has spent the past three years searching for suitable land but has been unable to find a property that meets his requirements, and stressed that his aim is not merely to own a house but to return to his roots and be closer to the people and place he considers home. 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 and has maintained a strong connection with Uttarakhand.

Addressing Dhami directly on X, Pant wrote: "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. "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.

Pant later clarified that he was not seeking land as a complimentary gesture and said he would purchase it from the government at applicable rates, writing: "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 appeal attracted attention beyond the post itself; reports noted the timing came shortly after Pant was reported to be Uttarakhand's highest individual taxpayer for the 2025-26 financial year, having reportedly paid Rs 23.84 crore in income tax and topping the state's individual taxpayer list for the second consecutive year. Reports cited his earnings as including his BCCI contract, match fees, IPL salary and commercial endorsements, noting he was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore and was a Grade A BCCI-contracted player during the assessed period.

Commercial associations listed in coverage of Pant's earnings include 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. The posts quickly gained attention on social media, with the India star's direct appeal to the Uttarakhand government becoming a talking point.