Former India wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik thinks it’s too soon to call Rishabh Pant India’s greatest wicket keeper-batter in Test cricket. While talking about comparisons between Pant and the legendary MS Dhoni, Karthik advised experts and fans to avoid making quick judgments.
In his first Test match since December 2022, Rishabh Pant hit a century against Bangladesh in Chennai where he scored 109 runs from 128 balls. Pant had been sidelined from cricket for over a year due to multiple injuries he suffered in a car accident in December 2022.
Rishabh Pant had several surgeries and went through 14 months of recovery before returning to IPL 2024 with Delhi Capitals. In Chennai, he equaled MS Dhoni’s record for the most Test centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter, which is six in the longest format of the cricket.
While talking to Cricbuzz, Karthik said, “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 India’s greatest ever wicketkeeper.”
The 39-year-old emphasized that MS Dhoni’s achievements as a wicketkeeper should not be overlooked.
He asserted, “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 around.”
