Rishabh Pant can become a better wicketkeeper-batter than MS Dhoni: Wasim Jaffer

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer has said that Rishabh Pant can become a better wicketkeeper- batter than MS Dhoni. Pant was the third-highest run-getter for the Indian team during their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. In the first game, he missed out on the hundred by just four runs in Mohali. The team went on to win the game by innings and 222 runs.

In the second game in Bangalore, where the ball was turning from Day one, the left-hander hit the fastest half-century by an Indian in Tests. He hit a 28-ball fifty while going past the likes of Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag, and Shardul Thakur. The team won the game by 238 runs. The Delhi-born player amassed 185 runs averaging 61.66, only behind Ravindra Jadeja (201) and Shreyas Iyer (186) in the Lanka Test series.

Meanwhile, Jaffer believes that Pant can be a better wicketkeeper-batter than former India skipper MS Dhoni. Jaffer reasoned that Pant has played some incredible knocks in such a young age.

“Yes, he can definitely become a better wicketkeeper-batter than Dhoni. At such a young age, he has already played some of the most incredible knock so in the coming 8-10 years, I feel he’ll be more mature and with more experience, he can definitely be better than Dhoni,” said Jaffer during a Q/A session with ESPNCricinfo.

Comparing the Test numbers of Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni played 90 Tests between making his debut in 2005 and retiring from the format in 2014. Talking about his batting numbers, the right-hander amassed 4876 runs averaging 38.09 with six hundreds and 33 fifties. Notably, he has never scored a Test century outside of Asia. He has five hundreds in India and one in Pakistan to his name. Talking about the wicketkeeping numbers, the Ranchi-born player has 256 catches and 38 stumpings to his name.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has played 30 games from 2018 to 2022. In those games, the left-hander has amassed 1920 runs averaging 40.85 with four hundreds and nine fifties to his name. Notably, the Delhi-born player has hit three centuries, each in England, South Africa, Australia, and India. Talking about his wicketkeeping, he has 107 catches and 11 stumpings to his name.