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Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul are two of the frontrunners for Team India's wicketkeeper position at the 2024 T20 World Cup. The two glovesmen are quite diverse as players, but they have had a similar career graph, beginning as explosive batters and eventually attaining captaincy for their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.
The two candidates will soon come face-to-face in the upcoming IPL contest between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Delhi Capitals (DC). The two franchises have had a contrasting start to the season, and so have the two skippers.
Another aspect that ties both the players as of now, is the fact that they are just returning from injury. Rishabh Pant was out of action for an extended period following the unfortunate car injury in December 2022.
KL Rahul, on the other hand, faced an issue with his quadriceps during the home Test series against England. He also featured as an impact player in the IPL to manage his workload but is likely to reprise an all-round role for the remainder of the season to stake his claim in India's T20 World Cup squad.
Both Pant and Rahul have established themselves as among the greatest wicket-keeper batters in the league over the years, and on that note, let us compare the IPL record of the two players.
KL Rahul has been one of the most high-scoring players since playing at the top of the order
The start of KL Rahul's journey in the IPL was somewhat erratic as he shuffled between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). During his first four years in the league, he failed to cross the 400-run mark as he primarily fiddled in the middle order.
He had a prolific season in 2018, his first one for the Kings XI Punjab (now renamed as Punjab Kings). He scored 659 runs at a strike rate of 158.41, and it was only the start.
Rahul went on to amass over 590 runs in each of the seasons from 2018 to 2022, a phase where he was a regular for the Indian white-ball team, and assumed captaincy for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after the 2022 mega auction.
He even won the Orange Cap for his efforts in the 2020 season, where he top-scored with 670 runs. His elite streak of run-scoring came to an end in the 2023 season, when he was injured midway through the season.
Overall, after 122 matches in the league, he has scored 4,289 runs at an average of 46.12 and a strike rate of 134.24.
KL Rahul also boasts a decent captaincy record, leading the Lucknow Super Giants to the playoffs in their first-ever season in 2022. He has led a total of 54 matches in the competition, and has a win percentage of just over 50 percent, having won 28 of those.
In terms of his glovework, he has claimed 46 catches and has completed five stumpings as well.
Rishabh Pant has been a dynamic player in his prolific IPL career
The flamboyant player was roped in by the Delhi Daredevils (now renamed as the Delhi Capitals) following his exploits at the 2016 U-19 World Cup. After a couple of good seasons to start with, much like KL Rahul, he had an exceptional campaign in 2018.
Pant scored 684 runs across 14 matches during the season at a strike rate of 173.60 and an average of 52.62. For his incredible heroics, he was adjudged as Emerging Player of the Season.
His good run continued as he amassed 488 runs in the next season, maintaining his high strike rate.
However, Pant had a forgettable 2020 season as Delhi Capitals (DC) made it to the finals for the very first time. He ended with only 343 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 113.95.
With a string of rather mediocre campaigns under his belt, Pant will be raring to go after making a promising start in the 2024 season. Overall, in 103 innings, he has scored 2,991 runs at an average of 30.60 and a strike rate of 148.29.
The southpaw was then handed the DC captaincy during the 2021 season when Shreyas Iyer was injured. He then held onto the post as he was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2022 season.
Pant could not lead DC in 2023 as he was still recovering from his accident, and he has returned as leader in the ongoing 2024 edition. His captaincy record reads similar to KL Rahul, as he also boasts a winning percentage marginally over 50 percent.
Pant has led DC in 35 matches since 2021, and has 18 wins under his belt. As far as his wicketkeeping record is concerned, he has taken 65 catches and has completed 19 stumpings to date.
