India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant is on the cusp of creating a special record in the upcoming fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester. There were doubts over his availability for the fourth Test but Pant has recovered from his finger injury sustained at Lord's and is also likely to take the gloves. The left-hander is only 19 runs away from becoming the first-ever overseas wicketkeeper-batter to score 1000 runs in Tests, the feat which even Dhoni and Gilchrist couldn't achieve in their careers.
Pant has so far amassed 981 runs in 12 Tests (23 innings) at an average of 42.65 with four centuries and as many fifties to his name, with his highest score being 146. Interestingly, MS Dhoni is the next on this list who scored 778 runs as a wicketkeeper-batter in 12 Tests (23 innings) at an average of 37.64 with eight fifties.
Pant better than Gilchrist in England
Not many wicketkeepers have achieved success like Pant in England and is the only player in the role with more than a century in the country as well. Notably, 118 wicketkeepers travelled to England to play in Tests, and only Rishabh Pant has scored more than a century in his career. In fact, the 27-year-old has already smashed four centuries so far.
The list of wicketkeepers to play Tests in England also includes players like Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, and Kumar Sangakkara, among many others. But none of them could set the stage on fire like Pant. Gilchrist scored only 521 runs in England in 10 matches (14 innings) while Sangakkara scored only 336 runs in 12 innings as a wicketkeeper batter. Both the legendary players are not even in top 10 of this list.
Foreign wicketkeeper-batters to score most Test runs in England
| Players (Country) | Runs scored |
| Rishabh Pant (India) | 981 |
| MS Dhoni (India) | 778 |
| Rod Marsh (Australia) | 773 |
| John Waite (South Africa) | 684 |
| Ian Healy (Australia) | 624 |
Pant is second-highest run-scorer in ongoing series
Meanwhile, in the ongoing Test series against England, Rishabh Pant is the second-highest run-scorer. He has so far amassed 425 runs in just six innings at an impeccable average of 70.83 with two centuries and as many fifties to his name. With the series on the line, India would need Pant to be in full flow in Manchester to make it 2-2.
Also Read
