'Genius in this format': Former India bowler calls Rishabh Pant India's greatest-ever Test wicket-keeper batter originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:- Dodda Ganesh has called Rishabh Pant India's greatest Test wicketkeeper-batter.
- The former India seamer pointed to Pant's match-winning impact across 50 Tests.
- Pant recently became the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.
Any debate about India's finest wicketkeeper-batter in Test cricket has traditionally begun and ended with MS Dhoni, but Dodda Ganesh believes the argument needs revisiting.
The former India seamer has made the case that Rishabh Pant now stands above everyone who has kept wicket for the country in the longest format.
The timing is apt, with Pant having just reached a landmark of his own in Galle. His 66 off 69 balls on Day 4 of the first Test against Sri Lanka took him to 100 sixes in Test cricket, making him the first Indian to reach the mark and only the fourth batter worldwide after Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.
Pant has reached that figure in only 51 Tests, with Virender Sehwag the next closest Indian, on 90 from a full career. It is the kind of statistic that underpins Ganesh's argument about impact rather than mere accumulation.
MORE: Batters with most sixes in Test cricket: Pant completes 100 sixes
Why Dodda Ganesh rates Rishabh Pant above India's past greatsGanesh, who played four Tests and one ODI for India and took 365 first-class wickets, was direct in dismissing the sentimentality that often colours these comparisons. He argued that Pant's record in the format speaks for itself.
Nostalgia is great. But I don’t think India have had a better WK-batsman than Rishabh Pant in the tests. The kind of impact he has had in his career spanning 50 tests and the number of tests he has won with his bat is on par with some of the great batters of the past.
Pant is a…
"Nostalgia is great. But I don't think India has had a better WK-batsman than Rishabh Pant in the tests," Ganesh said. He then framed the case around match-winning contributions rather than raw totals. "The kind of impact he has had in his career spanning 50 tests and the number of tests he has won with his bat is on par with some of the great batters of the past," Ganesh added.
The numbers support the argument. Pant has 3,557 runs at an average of 43.37 with eight centuries and 19 fifties, a mark comfortably clear of Dhoni's Test average of 38.09 and Syed Kirmani's 27.04.
He has also scored Test hundreds in England, Australia and South Africa and sits second on the list of highest run-scorers among Indian wicketkeepers despite playing far fewer matches.
MORE: Pujara slams Shubman Gill for delaying declaration on Day 4
Why the timing of Ganesh's praise matters for PantThe endorsement arrives at a curious juncture in Pant's career. He was removed as Test vice-captain in favour of KL Rahul following a difficult IPL 2026 season with Lucknow Super Giants, and Dhruv Jurel's recent form has fuelled genuine debate about whether the gloves might eventually change hands.
What Ganesh is pushing back against is the tendency to judge Pant on individual dismissals rather than career-defining impact.
His 89 not out at the Gabba in 2021, his hundreds at Edgbaston and Cape Town, and his ability to shift a Test in a single session are contributions that few Indian batters of any description have matched.
On that measure, the case Ganesh makes is difficult to dispute; however, the wicketkeeping debate develops from here.
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