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The Rohit Sharma-led Team India are hosting Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Playing their first Test since March 2024, India put up a mammoth target of 515 runs for their near neighbours, Bangladesh on Day 3 of the ongoing Test, courtesy centuries from Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill.
While Gill scored his fifth Test century, Pant, who marked his return since his horrific accident in December 2022, got to his sixth Test hundred and equalled former Indian wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni’s record for most Test tons by Indian keepers. With this, a lot of cricket pundits drew comparisons between the two. Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Dinesh Karthik, who is part of the commentary panel also dropped bold comments when asked about if Pant is better than Dhoni.
Is Rishabh Pant better than MS Dhoni?
With Pant getting to the phenomenal numbers in Test cricket, Dinesh Karthik shared his thoughts on the topic, adding that its “unacceptable” to call Pant as greatest ever yet. “It’s very unacceptable to say that he’s played 34 Tests and he’s already India’s greatest wicketkeeper batter. Let’s take time, let’s not jump to conclusions but definitely he’s on course for sure and he will finish as Inia’s greatest ever wicketkeeper,” Dinesh Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
Speaking further, Karthik opined that MS Dhoni’s career as a wicketkeeper and captain of the side gives him an added weightage above Pant at the moment. “Don’t discount Dhoni’s credentials as a wicketkeeper as well. He not only kept brilliantly, batted and scored runs when it mattered very very well for India but also he led India to a World Test Championship mace which is becoming number 1. So you got to give all that weightage as well when you speak about a player all round,” Karthik added.
Rishabh Pant has defensive technique similar to MS Dhoni: Sanjay Manjrekar
It wasn’t Karthik who shed light on Pant’s comparison with MS Dhoni as former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar also felt that Pant has a similar technique as MS Dhoni. With Pant scoring 109 runs off 128 deliveries, Manjrekar opined that Pant has to be accoladed for his shot-selection and his defensive technique should not go unnoticed. “It’s a misleading package we see with Rishabh Pant. Underneath that, you will see as many dot balls in his innings at Shubman Gill’s so he is willing to also play the defensive game that we have seen many times in the past,” Manjrekar said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“He has got a pretty good defensive technique, bit like Dhoni, whose defensive technique was quite good. People talk about the leadership and the big-hitting power that Dhoni had, but his defensive technique was pretty good, and the same with Rishabh Pant as well," Manjrekar added.
Drawing comparisons between Pant and Dhoni, the former has played only 34 Tests till date whereas MS Dhoni, who has retired from international cricket, featured in 90 Tests, scoring 4876 runs at an average of 38.09. In his 90 Test appearances, the 43-year-old registered six centuries and 33 fifties. Moreover, while keeping the wickets, MS Dhoni has 294 dismissals to his name which is fifth most in the longest format of the game.
