Rishabh Pant well ahead of MS Dhoni in Tests: Sanjay Manjrekar makes bold claim

India Today

3 hours ago

Sanjay Manjrekar has made a fairly divisive call and went on to back Rishabh Pant as the best wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket, even going above MS Dhoni, following his century against England in Leeds on Saturday, June 21.The former cricketer, when asked about his views on India's best gloveman in the longest format, pointed out the stark contrast in both their performances away from home.advertisementENG vs IND, 1st Test Day 2: Updates
'Again, I am a believer in where you got your hundreds, and I'm a big sort of, I always look at hundreds. OK, where have we got it? He's got hundreds in England. He's got 100 in South Africa. He's got a couple of hundreds in Australia,' Manjrekar said on JioHotstar.When playing Tests away from home, Dhoni has a total of 2496 runs in the 48 matches at an average of 32.84 with 18 fifties and just one century in Pakistan. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant has already hit 1976 runs in the 30 games played with an average of 39.52, with six fifties and five centuries as well.The numbers clearly show that Pant has been better, at least when it comes to scoring the big runs and already looks on track to surpass Dhoni's record away from home. Manjrekar reckons that Dhoni's best knocks have come in slightly lesser challenging conditions.advertisement'So when you look at the MS' hundreds, with all due respect to his fans, his centuries would not be so much in these countries where batting is a bit more challenging, as batting on an Indian pitch. In Test cricket, he's already well ahead of MS,' he added.Following the end of India's first innings, Manjrekar again went on to emphasise how Pant was indeed India's best keeper-batter. He even referenced how Pant has gotten out in the nineties quite a few times. The wicketkeeper batter has been dismissed seven times in the nineties in Test cricket.'By far, India's greatest ever Test batter-keeper. I was worried when he was in the 90s that he might end up getting his 8th 90 of his career. It is just unbelievable that he has so many 90s! But he's a breath of fresh air,' he added.Manjrekar was also appreciative of the crowds in England who have a taste for good competitive cricket. While they are supportive of their team, they're also appreciative of good performances, whether it is from their team or the opponents.'When he got out and raised his bat, there were a lot of English supporters who stood up and applauded that innings. That's what we love about England — these guys come to watch good cricket. They want their team to win, but when they see excellence from the opposition, you can see true appreciation for it,' he concluded.Meanwhile, Pant's innings of 134 ensured India put up a commanding first-innings total of 471 runs on the board. Now, he will be in focus as a vice-captain, where he will look to play his part and support the Indian captain in ensuring that the bowling unit can wrap up the English batters soon.Must Watch