Rishabh Pant vs MS Dhoni vs Adam Gilchrist: Assessing India's Rising Star in the Shadow of Wicketkeeping Legends

In the first Test against Bangladesh, Pant came in to bat after India had lost three wickets in the first 10 overs. Partnering with Yashasvi Jaiswal, the duo ensured that India didn't lose any more wickets in that session by scoring 39 runs in 52 balls. In the second innings, Pant showcased his formidable batting skills by smashing his sixth Test century, scoring 109 runs off 128 balls with 13 boundaries and four sixes. Thanks to Pant's brilliant innings, India posted a challenging target of 515 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin's exceptional six-wicket haul then led the hosts to a dominant 280-run victory at the iconic Chepauk Stadium.

The 26-year-old hence showed why he deserved to be included in the squad as soon as he was available for selection, in spite of KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel's exceptional performances as wicketkeeper-batter earlier in the year when Pant was still recovering from his injuries. Moreover, with this century, Pant has equalled former captain MS Dhoni's record for most Test tons by an Indian wicketkeeper. Former Bangladesh batter Tamim Iqbal even predicted that Pant would go on to break the record for most centuries by a wicketkeeper in the history of the format.

That particular record, is held by the legendary former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who is widely credited with redefining the requirements of a player in that position. Gilchrist retired with 17 centuries in Test cricket. Gilchrist is also the highest run scorer among wicketkeepers, having made 5570 runs at an average of 47.61 in 96 Tests.

He is followed quite closely by South Africa's Mark Boucher in this department though with 5515 runs in 147 Tests at an average of 30.30. Dhoni is the third highest in this list with 4876 in 90 Tests at an average of 38.09. Pant has thhus far scored 2419 runs in 34 Test matches at an average of 44.79.

It is hence quite clear that Pant has a long way to go before he can start truly challenging for most prolific wicketkeeper of all time in terms of runs or centuries but it is interesting to note that he is ahead of both Gilchrist, the record holder overall, and Dhoni, the Indian record holder, on a number of key stats at the same stage of their career as Pant is at right now.

Dhoni had scored 1778 runs in his first 34 Tests at an average of 37.04 with one century. Gilchrist, like Pant, had scored six centuries in first 34 Tests but had scored 2,282 runs, which is lesser than what the latter has managed thus far.

Pant is also pretty close to what Gilchrist and Dhoni had achieved in their first 34 Tests with regards to their wicketkeeping statistics. Dhoni had taken 79 catches and effected 17 stumpings while Gilchrist had 132 catches and 11 stumpings. Pant has 120 catches and 14 stumpings thus far in his career.

Dhoni's stature in Indian cricket goes well beyond his contributions behind the stumps or with the bat. He led India to victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy and was captain when the team first rose to the No.1 spot in the Test rankings in 2008. When asked about the comparisons, Pant made it clear that he is only concentrating on his own game.

“This is CSK’s home ground," he said about the Chepauk Stadium wher he made his comeback in the first Test against Bangladesh. "Mahi bhai has played a lot of cricket here. But, for me, like I have said before, I want to be myself. I don’t focus on what’s being said or what’s happening around me. I keep things simple and focus on giving my best. The atmosphere here was amazing, and I really enjoyed it,” Pant told JioCinema.