Rishabh Pant Crowned India’s Greatest Test Wicketkeeper-Batter by Former India Bowler Dodda Ganesh
Mumbai, India – The perennial debate surrounding India’s finest Test wicketkeeper-batter has taken a compelling new turn, with former India seamer Dodda Ganesh unequivocally declaring Rishabh Pant as the undisputed best. Ganesh’s bold assertion challenges the long-held reverence for MS Dhoni in this role, arguing that Pant’s unparalleled match-winning impact and statistical dominance elevate him above all predecessors.
Ganesh’s endorsement arrives at a particularly opportune moment, following Pant’s recent milestone of becoming the first Indian to smash 100 sixes in Test cricket. This feat, achieved in a blistering 66-run innings off just 69 balls during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, places him in an elite global club alongside Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, and Ben Stokes. Remarkably, Pant reached this landmark in just 51 Tests, dwarfing Virender Sehwag’s career tally of 90 sixes.
"Nostalgia is great. But I don’t think India has had a better WK-batsman than Rishabh Pant in the tests," Ganesh stated, cutting through any sentimentality often associated with such comparisons. He emphasized Pant’s unique ability to influence outcomes, adding, "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."
A closer look at the statistics firmly supports Ganesh’s argument. Pant boasts an impressive 3,557 runs at a robust average of 43.37, featuring eight centuries and 19 half-centuries. This record comfortably eclipses MS Dhoni’s Test average of 38.09 and Syed Kirmani’s 27.04, two names traditionally at the forefront of this discussion. Furthermore, Pant’s extraordinary ability to score Test hundreds in challenging conditions, including England, Australia, and South Africa, underscores his exceptional talent and temperament. Despite playing significantly fewer matches than his predecessors, he stands second on the list of highest run-scorers among Indian wicketkeepers.
Ganesh, who himself played four Tests and one ODI for India, took 365 first-class wickets, bringing a bowler’s perspective to the evaluation of Pant’s batting prowess. His emphasis on "match-winning impact" rather than mere accumulation of runs highlights Pant’s transformative contributions. Iconic innings such as his unbeaten 89 at the Gabba in 2021, which famously secured a historic series victory for India in Australia, and his sensational hundreds at Edgbaston and Cape Town, are prime examples of his capacity to single-handedly alter the course of a Test match in a single session.
This strong backing from a former international comes at a crucial juncture for Pant. Despite his undeniable Test match heroics, he recently lost his Test vice-captaincy to KL Rahul following a challenging IPL 2026 season with the Lucknow Super Giants. The emergence of Dhruv Jurel, with his promising recent form, has also ignited a genuine debate among cricket pundits regarding the long-term future of the wicketkeeping role for India.
However, Ganesh’s impassioned defense of Pant aims to shift the focus away from individual dismissals or fleeting patches of form, redirecting attention to his undeniable, career-defining impact on the longest format of the game. On this measure, the case made by Ganesh for Rishabh Pant being India’s greatest-ever Test wicketkeeper-batter is profoundly difficult to dispute, regardless of how the wicketkeeping debate continues to evolve.
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