Last Updated:June 05, 2026, 11:47 IST
The one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh will be Pant's 50th Test for India as designated wicketkeeper-batter.
Rishabh Pant will be India’s designated wicketkeeper-batter in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, which is set to take place at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, from Saturday (June 6). By being part of India’s playing XI in the first-ever Test match at Mullanpur, Pant will join MS Dhoni in an elite list of Indian players.
The only Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh is set to be Pant’s 50th Test match for India as a designated wicketkeeper-batter. The 28-year-old will become only the third player after MS Dhoni and Syed Kirmani to play 50 or more Test matches as a designated wicketkeeper-batter.
Dhoni tops the list of Indian players with the most Test matches as a designated wicketkeeper-batter. The former India captain made his Test debut in 2005 and played a total of 90 Tests (all as a wicketkeeper). His last Test for India was against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2014.
Most Test as designated wicketkeeper-batter for India
Kirmani, on the other hand, played 88 Tests as a wicketkeeper-batter for India from 1976 to 1986. In those 88 matches, Kirmani, who was a member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team, scored 2,759 runs with the help of two centuries and 12 fifties.
The world record for playing the most Test matches as a designated wicketkeeper-batter is in the name of Mark Boucher. Boucher played 147 Tests for South Africa and the ICC World XI as a wicketkeeper from 1997 to 2012 and scored 5,515 runs.
Most Tests as designated wicketkeeper-batter
In his 50th Test match for India, Pant will also have a chance to enter his name in the history books by becoming the first Indian to slam 100 sixes in Tests.
Most sixes in Tests
As of now, he has hammered 94 sixes in 86 innings of 49 Tests. So far, only three players — Adam Gilchrist, Brendon McCullum, and Ben Stokes — have scored 100-plus sixes in the five-day format of the game.
