With More Experience, He Can Definitely Become A Better Wicketkeeper-batter Than MS Dhoni - Wasim Jaffer On Rishabh Pant

Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer made quite the statement after India’s victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test on Monday. He claimed that Rishabh Pant can go on to become a better wicket-keeper batter than the former captain, MS Dhoni.

Although Pant is perhaps already a better wicket-keeper batter than Dhoni when it comes to Tests, the limited-overs format record is quite different. The finishing capabilities of Dhoni are on another level and it will take a while for Pant to reach that level of consistency.

“Yes, he can definitely become a better wicketkeeper-batter than Dhoni. At such a young age, he has already played some of the most incredible knocks so in the coming 8-10 years, I feel he’ll be more mature and with more experience, he can definitely be better than Dhoni,” Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo.

Pant’s Test batting exploits have been on the rise and he showcased it once again in the 2-match Test series against Sri Lanka. He scored 185 runs at a strike rate of 120 to win the Player of the Series award.

“He is somebody who can change the game in 40 minutes” – Rohit Sharma on Rishabh Pant

Indian captain Rohit Sharma also asserted that Pant’s style of batting comes with a lot of risks but when he pulls it off, the 24-year-old can change the momentum of a game within an hour. There will be mistakes that he ends up committing but in the end, that is the best way to learn.

“His batting is his batting. We know how he bats and as a team, we just want to give him that freedom to bat in the way that he wants to bat.

“But also keeping in mind certain situations of the game, where the game is going, we have also conveyed that to him, but we want to stick with his game plan as a team. It just seems to get better and get better – his game plans.”

“There will be times when you will smash your head and say ‘why did he play that shot’ but again we need to be ready to accept that with him when he bats. And he is somebody who can change the game in 40 minutes. And the most significant factor of his in this series was his keeping.

“His keeping was the best that I have seen. He kept well when England came last year and he seems to get better every time he keeps wickets for India, so that is something that I have been very impressed with,” Rohit said in the post-match press conference.

Also Read – IND vs SL: Huge Decision By Rohit Sharma And Rahul Dravid To Back Rishabh Pant At No. 5 – Saba Karim