Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant had an unusual request for Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in the early hours of Friday. At around 12:46 AM IST on August 8, the India wicketkeeper-batter tagged Chief Minister Dhami on X and asked for help in finding land in Uttarakhand. Pant said he has been trying to buy a plot in the state for the last three years because he wants to move his base from Delhi and build a home closer to his roots. 

He explained that he wanted to return to his “Pahadi people” and contribute to the state. The left hander also mentioned that land had apparently been promised to him earlier for his efforts in promoting Uttarakhand.

His tweet read “@pushkardhami hello sir how’s you ??? It’s a long time for me especially being local from Uttrakhand. I have been trying to buy land to shift my base from Delhi to Uttrakhand. I wanna move back to my native place to help and built around Uttrakhand and I want to shif back to my Pahadi people please look into this matter it’s been 3 years didn’t get any land awaiting your answer.” 

Rishabh Pant later followed it up with another post, saying he would be happy if the government gifted him land for representing Uttarakhand internationally, but he was also willing to purchase it at the official government rate. He noted that his main concern was simply knowing the proper process.

Twitter Erupts After Pant’s Late-Night Messages to Dhami

The request from Pant was serious. But the way Pant wrote gave twitter plenty to talk about. The late-night timing, along with spelling mistakes such as “nitemare,” “dew,” “shif” and “lovey,” immediately caught fans’ attention. Some joked that Pant might not have been completely sober when he posted the messages. 

Some fans even compared Pant’s English to former Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal, while a few wondered whether his account had been hacked. The online backlash intensified significantly later in the day when Pant registered a flop batting performance, getting dismissed for just 2 runs in the ongoing warm-up match against Sri Lanka XI in Colombo.

But Chief Minister Dhami appeared to take the request seriously. Responding to Pant, the Uttarakhand CM called him the pride of Uttarakhand and praised his love for the state. He said officials had been asked to contact Pant and provide all possible assistance in accordance with the rules. The left hander is currently part of the Indian side for the Sri Lankan Test series. The first match will start on August 15 at Galle.