Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer believes Rishabh Pant can become a better wicket-keeper batter than MS Dhoni. Pant has had an incredible start to his Test career as he has already played some breathtaking knocks, especially in foreign conditions.
However, there is no doubt that he still has a long way to go in order to compare with legendary MS Dhoni, who ticked all the right boxes in his glorious career.
Pant has grabbed the limelight in the recent past and he has shown the skills to go a long way in his career. The left-hander had played a key role in helping India win the historic Gabba Test match as he had scored an unbeaten knock of 89 runs against Australia.
Pant is known for his pyrotechnics and he mostly backs himself to play in an aggressive manner, which is his natural style. The left-hander scored an attacking knock of 39 runs in the first innings and then made the record of fastest Test fifty for an Indian batter as he reached the milestone in only 28 balls against Sri Lanka.
Pant also made the record of the fastest half-century by a wicket-keeper in Test matches. The southpaw scored 185 runs in two Test matches against the Island nation and he was awarded the Player of the Series. Furthermore, Pant also impressed with his wicket-keeping throughout the series and especially kept well in the Bengaluru Test match, as the pitch had variable bounce.
“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 knocks 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.
Pant has shown the skills to turn the match on its head and he has done a fine job thus far for the national team. The attacking batter can hit the ground running but at the same time, he needs to be more mature in his shot-making as he can be a bit reckless at times.
Pant will now lead Delhi Capitals in the upcoming IPL 2022. DC will begin its IPL campaign against Mumbai Indians at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on 27th March.
