"MS Dhoni's name is present in that list" - Aakash Chopra on whether Rishabh Pant is India's greatest Test wicketkeeper-batter
Aakash Chopra is unsure whether Rishabh Pant can already be labeled India's greatest Test wicketkeeper-batter, highlighting former captain MS Dhoni is also in the race. However, he pointed out that Pant's exceptional performances in tough overseas conditions potentially give him the edge over others.
India thrashed Bangladesh by 280 runs in the first Test in Chennai on Sunday, September 22. Pant smashed 109 runs off 128 deliveries in the hosts' second innings after scoring a 52-ball 39 in the first essay.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra was asked whether Rishabh Pant is India's greatest wicketkeeper-batter in Tests.
"MS Dhoni's name is present in that list, so there will be a question on that. However, if you see from the viewpoint that we only consider performances in SENA countries, because we have grown up like that, he is the only wicketkeeper to score centuries in South Africa, England, and South Africa," he said.
The former India opener reckons Pant has the chance to become India's best-ever wicketkeeper-batter in the longest format by the end of his career if he has not achieved that distinction already.
"He has already scored six centuries and he has played just 58 innings. Even if he is not the greatest now, he can definitely finish as the greatest," Chopra added.
Pant's 109-run knock was his sixth Test century, equaling Dhoni's record for most hundreds by an Indian wicketkeeper-batter in red-ball cricket. It was his second century at home, having struck two in England and one each in Australia and South Africa.
"I think every team must be scared of him" - Ajay Jadeja on Rishabh Pant
During the same discussion, Ajay Jadeja was asked whether Australia would already be thinking about Rishabh Pant ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"I think every team must be scared of him because you can have a regular player who performs consistently, that's a different fear. You want to get him out at the start or he will make you run the entire day," he replied.
The former India captain opined that opposition teams might be fearing Pant more than consistent players such as Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli.
"For example, Gill and Kohli, you expect consistency from them but you fear him (Pant) more because you might feel the match is your control and he can come and change the game in one session. So I feel every team would be more scared of him," Jadeja explained.
"There is the fear of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill as well but that's a different kind of fear. That's a fear of an equal contest, either you or they would be ahead, but with him (Pant), he would decide what he wants to do," he added.
Pant has amassed 624 runs at an average of 62.40 in 12 Test innings in Australia. His unbeaten 89 in India's second innings of the 2021 Gabba Test helped the visitors seal a 2-1 series win in their last trip Down Under.