KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant: Who Will Be India's Next Wicket-Keeper?

During MS Dhoni's era, India had a consistent wicket-keeper who excelled across all three formats. However, since Dhoni's retirement in 2020, the wicket-keeping position has been a revolving door, with Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul emerging as the main contenders. The team has yet to settle on a fixed option, leading to ongoing debates about who should claim the spot. In this discussion, we'll analyze key statistics and other factors to determine the best candidate for India's wicket-keeping role, evaluating both Pant and Rahul’s performances to see who fits the role better moving forward.

Early Life and Domestic Performance

Coming from Bangalore, Karnataka, KL Rahul started his cricketing journey when he was just 10 years old and made his debut for the Karnataka domestic team in the 2010-11 season. Since then, he started making waves in the Domestic cricket along with participating in the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Talking about Rishabh Pant, the wicket-keeper/batter comes from a small town of Uttarakhand, Roorkee and made his domestic debut for the Delhi team in 2015. After producing some of the best knocks in 2015, he was selected for the 2016 Under-19 Cricket World Cup as vice-captain of the Indian team.

First-Class Cricket

List-A Cricket

Comparing all the Three Formats in International Cricket

After performing well in the Domestic circuit, both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant got a chance to represent the Indian team in the International circuit. The statistics of their respective careers are given below for Test, ODI and the T20 Format.

Test Format

Making his debut in the hardest form of cricket in 2014 against Australia, KL Rahul proved to be one of the best choices in the middle-order because of his game. However, after just three years, he was offered the opening slot and since then in the 50 test matches of his career, he has made 2863 runs with an average of 34.08.

Starting his test career with a six on the second ball of his debut in 2018, Rishabh Pant has been a fearless batsman in test cricket and in just 33 matches in the career, he has got 2271 runs and averages 43.67 with the bat for the team.

ODI Format

After making a positive impact in Test Cricket, KL Rahul was included in the ODI Team of Indian Cricket in 2016 where he made his debut against Zimbabwe. Since then, he has been an integral part of the Indian team in the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cup as well. In the 77 ODI matches of his career so far, he has scored 2851 runs at an average of 49.15 for the team.

Coming to Rishabh Pant, made his debut in the ODI Format in 2018 and soon made his name in this format too with his aggressive batting. From just 31 matches in his ODI career so far, he has scored 871 runs and possesses an average of 33.50 while maintaining a strike rate of 106.21.

T20 Format

KL Rahul began his T20 career for India with a bang but struggled to maintain his form in later matches. Over 72 T20 internationals, he has amassed 2,265 runs at an impressive average of 37.75, coupled with a strong strike rate of 139.12. His performance also includes two centuries, highlighting his potential despite some inconsistency in recent games.

Rishabh Pant has struggled to make a significant impact in the T20 format, with the numbers not working in his favour. In 76 T20I matches, he has scored only 1,209 runs at a modest average of 23.25. His strike rate of 127.26 further reflects his challenges in this format, underscoring his difficulties in finding consistent form.

Performance in ICC Events

Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have proved to be effective in the ICC Tournaments for the Indian team and below, we will be comparing their performances in the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and the World Test Championship.

ODI World Cups

KL Rahul has been a part of the Indian team in the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups where in 2019, he was shifted from the middle order to opener. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, he played in the middle order and in the 20 matches played, he has got 813 runs at 58.07 average.

Till date, Rishabh Pant has participated only in the 2019 ODI World Cup after he was included as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan. In the 4 innings played by him, he managed to score just 116 runs at an average of 29.00.

T20 World Cups

KL Rahul made his T20 World Cup debut in 2021 in UAE and was the highest run scorer for the Indian team. However, he wasn’t able to do well in the 2022 T20 World Cup and was dropped from the 2024 T20 World Cup squad. In the 11 matches played, he has scored 322 runs with a strike rate of 138.19 for the team.

Just like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant made his T20 World Cup debut in 2021 but was unable to make any impact in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup. However, in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he was promoted to number 3 and managed to win the World Cup for the Indian team. In 15 matches, he has made 258 runs while averaging 23.45 with the bat.

World Test Championship

In the World Test Championship, KL Rahul has proved to be an impactful batsman for the Indian team in Overseas conditions and has got centuries in England, South Africa and other countries. In just 16 matches, he has got 958 runs with an average of 31.93 for the Indian team.

Rishabh Pant has made an unbelievable impact in the World Test Championship for the Indian team and with 1575 runs from just 24 matches, he has got 3 centuries along with 9 half-centuries to his name. Besides this, his average of 41.44 shows how good he has been in the middle order for the team.

Performance as a Wicket-Keeper

Both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are strong contenders for the wicket-keeping role in the Indian team. Now, we will examine their overall effectiveness behind the stumps across all three formats of international cricket to determine who has been more impactful with the gloves so far.

Comparing the Performances in the Indian Premier League

In the Indian Premier League, KL Rahul started his career in 2013 with the Royal Challengers Bangalore and then moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad only to be back with the team in Red in 2016. After that, he moved to the Punjab Kings and is currently the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants. With an IPL Career of 132 matches, he has scored 4683 runs with a strike rate of 134.60 and averages 45.46 with the bat. In 2020, KL Rahul was awarded the Orange Cap for scoring 670 runs in 14 matches for the Punjab Kings team.

Rishabh Pant stepped into the IPL for the first time in 2016 when Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) picked him for the season and since then, he has been their best batsman in the League. Being the captain of the team now and having a career of 111 matches, he has scored 3284 runs while maintaining a strike rate of 148.93 and averaging 35.31 with the bat so far. Meanwhile, he has also got a century along with 18 half-centuries to his name in the IPL.

Achievements and Records

With their careers spanning for more than 7 years now, both Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have got some major achievements and records. We will be listing out all those major records here.

Conclusion

Both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have showcased their strengths as wicket-keepers for India across formats, yet their performances highlight different skill sets.

Pant's aggressive batting and keeping skills make him a vital asset in the longest format, while Rahul's adaptability gives him an edge in white-ball cricket.