IND v AFG: Rishabh Pant Set To Join MS Dhoni In Elite Club

India vs Afghanistan one-off Test is all set to start on June 6 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium in Mullanpur. Shubman Gill-led side will enter the match with several young members. Additionally, KL Rahul has replaced Rishabh Pant from the vice-captaincy role.

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Rishabh Pant, who is the designated wicketkeeper-batter in the one-off Test against, will be keen to make a strong statement on the field. The 28-year-old will script history and enter an elite club featuring MS Dhoni by being part of India’s playing XI in the first-ever Test match at Mullanpur.

Rishabh Pant set to join MS Dhoni in elite club

Pant will play his 50th Test as a designated wicketkeeper-batter in New Chandigarh against Afghanistan. MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani are the only other designated wicketkeeper-batters to play 50 or more Test matches.

Dhoni tops the list of Indian players who have played the most Test matches as a designated wicketkeeper-batter. The former India captain, who made his Test debut in 2005, has amassed 90 Tests (all as a wicketkeeper). He played his last match against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2014.

Kirmani has played a total of 88 Tests as a designated wicketkeeper-batter in his career, spanning over a decade. He has scored 2,759 runs, which includes 2 centuries and 12 fifties.

Mark Boucher has most Test appearances as a designated wicketkeeper-batter

The record for the most Test appearances as a designated wicketkeeper-batter belongs to South African great Mark Boucher, who featured in 147 Tests between 1997 and 2012 for South Africa and the ICC World XI, scoring 5,515 runs.

As Rishabh Pant prepares to play his 50th Test for India, he stands on the verge of another significant record of his own. The explosive left-hander is just six sixes away from becoming the first Indian batter to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.

Pant has smashed 94 sixes in just 86 innings across 49 Tests, highlighting his aggressive approach in the longest format. If he manages to hit six sixes, he will join an elite club featuring only Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes – the only players to have crossed the 100-sixes mark in Test cricket.