"Not The Best...": Dhoni vs Pant Debate Gets A New "Hero Factor" Angle

Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant made a brilliant return to Test cricket as he slammed a stunning century to guide his side to a comfortable win over Bangladesh in the first Test match in Chennai. Pant 's performance earned him a lot of praise from both experts as well as fans and it also sparked a comparison with MS Dhoni in the race for the 'greatest wicket-keeper batter' for India. Former New Zealand batter Ian Smith, however, believes that Pant has a long way to go before he can considered in the same bracket as Dhoni. He added that Pant is not the best wicket-keeper at the moment and when it comes to 'hero factor', it will difficult for him to get past Dhoni.

"I like Pant as a cricketer. It's an extremely important role and he's got massive shoes to fill because they've had a revolving door since Dhoni to be perfectly honest. You talk about hero factor, it's pretty hard to go past MS. But once you reach a certain stage in Indian cricket and you start to perform at the international level, your life changes dramatically. You become a superstar beyond anything most sporting people would be akin to," he said on talkSPORT cricket.

Smith was all praise for Pant as he said that he likes the youngster's attitude and rates him quite highly.

"Rishabh Pant… I like him because he's just got that attitude. He's not going to run away from a fight. If you ask him to open, he'll open. If you ask him to bat at 5, he'll do it. He is probably not the best gloveman the world has ever seen but he is working on it, getting better at it. And that's efficient because you spend so much of your day standing close to the stumps. He is a given for me. He is Gilchrist-like in that regard. I rate him very highly," said Smith.