Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has backed Rishabh Pant to break Rahul Dravid’s record of scoring six centuries in England, which is the most by any Indian batter. Pant scored twin centuries in the opening Test against England at Leeds, Headingley.
While the left-hander scored a fine knock of 134 runs in the first innings, he scored 118 runs in the second innings on Monday. Pant was under the pump before the England tour as he could not deliver the goods while leading Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
However, Pant was able to turn the tables in English conditions and batted at the top of his game in both innings. Pant scored his eighth Test century in the second innings and added 195 runs with KL Rahul.
Furthermore, this was Pant’s fourth century in England and he is only two hundreds away from match Rahul Dravid’s record.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on JioHotstar, “Pant is India’s first and last choice as a wicketkeeper in this Test side – and that says a lot. Now, if you look at the numbers – most hundreds by Indians in Tests in England – Rahul Dravid leads with six. And suddenly, you have Pant’s name in that same elite bracket. And there’s a nice little twist – there are two Rahul’s in this story.
“You’ve got KL Rahul, and you’ve got Rishabh Pant. Who knows, by the time this series is done, Pant could match or even surpass Rahul Dravid. There are still four Tests to go in this series – that’s potentially eight innings for Pant. And he’s already started in near-perfect fashion,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pant is the first Indian batter to score twin centuries in a Test match in English conditions. The left-hander also became the seventh Indian batter to score two centuries in a Test match and became the second wicket-keeper after Andy Flower to score hundreds in each innings of a Test.
“When you look at all of Rishabh Pant’s achievements, the first instinct is to think of him purely as a batter – and understandably so. Because when you’re talking about batting exploits in England, scoring twin hundreds, the names he’s being compared with are legends like Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar,” Manjrekar added.
“But here’s the remarkable part – he’s also a wicketkeeper. That’s what makes it almost unbelievable. I know someone like Kumar Sangakkara had a phenomenal batting record, but he wasn’t quite the keeper that Rishabh Pant is,” he added.
Pant would look to carry the same form in the rest of the series.
