More than 600 days after his horrific car accident, Rishabh Pant returned to his absolute best, scoring a century for the country, on Day 3 of the first Test against Bangladesh. Pant's ton came at a crucial time for the team, when most of the top-order batters departed early, leaving India India in a concerning position in the second innings. However, Pant and Shubman Gill orchestrated a crucial partnership, with the latter also scoring a ton, to take the team into a comfortable zone. As Pant notched up the triple-digit score, he also equalled MS Dhoni's record of scoring the most tons in Test cricket, as a wicket-keeper batter for the country.
Seeing Pant equal Dhoni's record at the age of 26, a debate over the comparison between the two triggered on social media. Even former India wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik couldn't resist getting involved in the debate, but asked for Pant to be given more time before a judgement is made.
"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," said Karthik during a chatter on Cricbuzz.
"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 round," he added.
Dhoni remains one of India's finest players of all time. His resume in white-ball cricket remains highly decorated. However, Test cricket arguably didn't see the Jharkhand-born cricketer hit the absolute top. Pant, on the other hand, has shown more promise in the whites, than he has in the coloured jersey for India.