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It's been a year since MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. The wicketkeeper-batsman had an incredible record for India, especially in ODIs, and is still considered one of the greatest finishers the game of cricket has seen.
Apart from being a great wicketkeeper, Dhoni was one of the sharpest captains to have led Team India. In 297 ODI innings, Dhoni scored an incredible 10,773 runs at an average of 50.58 and remained unbeaten on 84 occasions. He scored 73 half-centuries and 10 centuries and was one of the mainstays for Team India in the middle-order. On the wicket-keeping front, he took 321 catches and affected 123 stumpings.
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He was an exceptional cricketer in the T20 format as well, averaging 37.60 in 85 T20I innings and had a decent strike rate of 126.13. With 57 catches and 34 stumpings, he was exceptional behind the stumps in the shortest format too.
Although MS Dhoni last played an ODI and T20I in 2019, in this article, we concentrate on the limited-overs games played by Team India following his international retirement, i.e. with effect from 16th August 2020. India have since played nine ODIs and 11 T20Is, providing opportunities to four wicket-keepers in each format.
Here is a look at how the Indian wicket-keepers have performed in white-ball international cricket with the bat and behind the stumps post MS Dhoni's retirement.
ODIs:
India have played nine ODIs since MS Dhoni retired from international cricket, winning five and losing four times.
KL Rahul was India's first-choice wicket-keeper for the three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under. Rahul scored 93 runs in three games at an average of 31. His top score was 76, which he managed in the second ODI. He was dismissed by a spinner on all three occasions. On the wicket-keeping front, Rahul took five catches in the series.
The home series against England earlier in the year saw KL Rahul keep wickets in the first ODI. Thereafter, Rishabh Pant took over the wicket-keeping duties and made an immediate impact. The southpaw scored 155 runs in two innings at an average of 77.50 and also took one catch behind the stumps.
In the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka, Team India handed the wicket-keeping duties to Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. Kishan was impressive in the first ODI, scoring an aggressive 59. But he managed just one run in the second game. Samson, meanwhile, played the third ODI and scored an impressive 46. While Kishan took catches in the series, Samson had one stumping to his credit.
Out of the above four mentioned cricketers, the real competition for the wicket-keeping slot in ODIs is between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.
Rahul has done a decent job as India's wicketkeeper-batsman in the recent past. However, he is not a specialist wicket-keeper. Team India require Rahul, the batsman, more than Rahul, the 'keeper. Until Pant finds his feet in ODI cricket, Rahul can continue playing as India's wicketkeeper-batsman.
While Pant has been impressive in Test cricket, he is yet to set the stage on fire in the 50-over format. He has scored 529 runs in 16 ODI innings at an average of 33.06. But he has considerably improved his wicket-keeping skills.
To be fair to Pant, he has not been given a consistent run in the ODIs. The southpaw will be hopeful of playing more ODI cricket to strengthen his case as Team India's wicket-keeper batsman for the 2023 ODI World Cup.
T20Is:
The scene has been same in T20Is since MS Dhoni's international retirement, with KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson having kept wickets for Team India in the shortest format.
Team India have played 11 T20Is since 16th August 2020, winning six and losing five matches.
Rahul kept wickets for India in all three T20Is against Australia in December 2020. He scored 81 runs in three games, at an average of 27, with one half-century to his credit.
Thereafter, India played a five-match T20I series against England at home earlier in the year, with Rishabh Pant keeping wickets in all five games. He took two catches and was involved in a stumping in the series. He had an ordinary run with the bat, scoring just 102 runs in four innings at an average of 25.50. Pant has struggled in T20Is and averages just 21.33 in 29 innings.
Sanju Samson, meanwhile, failed to impress in the T20Is he played against Sri Lanka recently, scoring just 34 runs in three innings.
Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, made his Team India debut as a specialist batsman in the series against England, scoring 56 off just 32 balls in his first outing. He also kept wickets for India in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. In three T20I matches, Kishan averages 40 and has a strike rate of 144.45. He could well be the dark horse to be Team India's 'keeper-batsman in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman.
What's next for India?
It would be fair to say that none of the four players mentioned above have grabbed their opportunities to make the Indian keeper-batsman's position his own in limited-overs cricket. Ms Dhoni has raised the bar as a keeper-batsman and it will be difficult for any cricketer to replicate the former Indian skipper's heroics on a consistent basis in limited-overs cricket.
Rishabh Pant has the talent but is yet to make an impact in limited-overs cricket. KL Rahul, meanwhile, would want to concentrate more on his batting rather than taking up wicketkeeping duties in white-ball cricket. While Ishan Kishan has been impressive in the limited opportunities he has received and could be the future of Indian cricket, Sanju Samson needs to be more consistent to stay in the mix.
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