Ricky Ponting compares Rishabh Pant with MS Dhoni in Test cricket

Flamboyant batter Rishabh Pant has been one of India's biggest stars as far as red-ball cricket is concerned. The keeper-batter has played some iconic knocks in Test cricket, including his match-winning innings of 89* runs against Australia at the Gabba in 2021. The 26-year-old has represented India in 33 Test matches so far in his career and has hit five centuries, which is close to MS Dhoni’s six in 90 matches.

Drawing a comparison between the two cricketers, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting lauded Pant and stated that he simply loves to play the game and is an infectious character to have around. He also noted how Dhoni took almost 100 Test matches to score six Test centuries but Pant has already hit five in almost one-third of the matches that he has played in comparison to the legendary cricketer.

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“We've all seen him play and heard him in the stump mic, he's an infectious character to have around the group. He loves his cricket, he's a winner, that's what he is. He doesn't just play to make a few runs and be out there for the fun of it. He must have 4 or 5 Test hundreds already and he's got about nine 90s as well. [MS] Dhoni played for 120 Tests (90) and made 3 or 4 hundreds (6), this is how good this guy (Pant) is. He's a serious cricketer,” Ponting said on Sky Sports.

It's a remarkable comeback: Ponting on Pant

Pant missed almost 16 months of cricket due to a life-threatening accident on December 30, 2022. It took him a long time to recover from that and made his comeback in professional cricket in IPL 2024. Soon after that, he went on to win the T20 World Cup for India and now has been called up in India’s upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh. It will also be his first Test match since the accident.

Talking about that, Ponting stated that Pant’s comeback is a remarkable story. The legendary cricketer revealed that he didn’t expect the Haridwar-born cricketer will feature in IPL 2024 at all and even if he did, Pant might play as an impact sub but he went on to play all the matches and was one of Delhi Capitals’ leading run-scorers in the tournament.

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“It's a remarkable comeback. If you can see even his leg now and listen to the stories he tells about what he confronted during his car accident, just the mental scarring that comes with that but the physical side and the rehab he went through, I didn't think he would play last year's IPL (2024).

“But 12 months before, he said 'Don't worry about me, I guarantee you I'll be right for the IPL'. We thought he'll be able to bat and we might have to use him as a sub player (Impact Player) but he kept every game, was one of our leading run-scorers, bats No. 3 in the T20 World Cup and is part of a World Cup winning team and is named in the Test squad now,” Ponting added.