Sipu Jha
Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes Rishabh Pant will surpass MS Dhoni’s tally of Test runs if he continues to play regularly for the national side. Pant, India’s Test vice-captain, is currently sidelined with a right foot fracture sustained while batting in the fourth Test against England at Manchester. In 47 Tests so far, he has scored 3427 runs at an impressive average of 44.50, with eight centuries to his name, which is already two more than Dhoni’s six hundreds in the longest format. “MS Dhoni is at the top in terms of the number of matches played and runs scored. He has played 90 games, 144 innings, scored 4876 runs at an average of 38.09, and has six centuries to his name. Rishabh Pant has struck six centuries in the last five years,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. “If we look at it overall, Rishabh Pant has already scored eight centuries and MS Dhoni had six centuries. Rishabh Pant is already in the second spot (in terms of number of runs). He is 1400 runs behind MS Dhoni and has played nearly half the games. If he plays more, he will obviously go ahead of MS Dhoni,” he added.
Pant was one of India’s standout performers during the recent Test series in England, scoring 479 runs in seven innings at an average of 68.42. His tally included two centuries in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds. “If we see the most runs by a wicketkeeper in England, he is the only guy who has scored 1000 runs in England. He has struck four centuries and five half-centuries. He has scored more than 1000 runs in 13 matches and 24 innings. They might start building his statues in England,” Chopra said.
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On a global scale, Chopra pointed to Adam Gilchrist’s record of 5570 runs at 47.60 in 96 Tests. “He is the one who is fairly ahead of him. However, Gilchrist might also be caught because Pant is nearly 2250 runs behind. Without a shadow of doubt, India’s No. 1 wicketkeeper-batter ever and in world cricket, he will finish as one of the finest and probably the best,” he concluded.
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