"Rishabh Pant has already scored 8 centuries and MS Dhoni had 6" - Aakash Chopra on whether Pant is India's best-ever Test wicketkeeper-batter

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Rishabh Pant is the country's best-ever Test wicketkeeper-batter. While acknowledging that MS Dhoni has scored more Test runs than Pant, he pointed out that the latter has struck two centuries more than the former Indian skipper despite playing 43 matches fewer.

Pant has amassed 3427 runs, including eight centuries, at an average of 44.50 in 47 Tests. He scored 479 runs at an average of 68.42 in seven innings in the recently concluded Test series against England.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that Pant might be nearly 1400 runs behind Dhoni in aggregate Test runs, but has surpassed him on century count in nearly half the number of games.

"MS Dhoni is at the top in terms of the number of matches played and runs scored. He has played 90 games, 144 innings, scored 4876 runs at an average of 38.09, and has six centuries to his name. Rishabh Pant has struck six centuries in the last five years," Chopra said (4:15).

"If we look at it overall, Rishabh Pant has already scored eight centuries and MS Dhoni had six centuries. Rishabh Pant is already in the second spot (in terms of number of runs). He is 1400 runs behind MS Dhoni and has played nearly half the games. If he plays more, he will obviously go ahead of MS Dhoni," he added.

Chopra highlighted that only seven Indian wicketkeepers have scored more than 1000 runs in Tests. He opined that Pant is already the best among them, adding that numbers would also confirm that in a couple of years, with the 27-year-old even being India's top run-getter in Tests since 2020.

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"He is the only guy who has scored 1000 runs in England" - Aakash Chopra compares Rishabh Pant with wicketkeepers worldwide

Rishabh Pant has scored 1035 runs at an average of 43.12 in 13 Tests in England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Rishabh Pant is the only visiting wicketkeeper-batter to score more than 1000 Test runs in England.

"If we see the most runs by a wicketkeeper in England, he is the only guy who has scored 1000 runs in England. He has struck four centuries and five half-centuries. He has scored more than 1000 runs in 13 matches and 24 innings. They might start building his statues in England," he said (7:00).

While acknowledging that Adam Gilchrist has scored 2143 more runs than Pant, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Pant might surpass the Australian great to become the highest-scoring wicketkeeper in the world.

"If we see the list of all Test wicketkeepers in the world to date, Adam Gilchrist has scored 5570 runs at an average of 47.60 in 96 matches. He is the one who is fairly ahead of him. However, Gilchrist might also be caught because Pant is nearly 2250 runs behind. Without a shadow of doubt, India's No. 1 wicketkeeper-batter ever and in world cricket, he will finish as one of the finest and probably the best," Chopra observed.

However, Chopra noted that Pant has a long way to go in white-ball cricket. While opining that MS Dhoni is the best-ever ODI wicketkeeper-batter, the analyst added that there are many contenders for the accolade in the shortest format.