IPL 2022: KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant - IPL numbers comparison

Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have been in competition since the get-go. They have vied for the same middle-order spot in India's white-ball teams, contested to be the best wicketkeeper-batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and are now competing, wittingly or unwittingly, to be India's next captain in all three formats.

So ahead of the IPL 2022 season where both will lead young, exciting squads and look to win the first title for their respective franchises, it's time to see what they have achieved so far stastically both as batters and glovemen.

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KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant - Who has done better with the bat in the IPL?

KL Rahul made his IPL debut in 2013 and has played every season since except 2017 where he was down with a shoulder injury. It took him three years to cement his place in the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team. Since then, he has rarely missed a game, whether for the Bengaluru-based franchise, SunRisers Hyderabad or Punjab Kings (erstwhile Kings XI Punjab).

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper has spent most of his career as an opener. He has scored 3273 runs in 85 innings at an average of 47.43 and a strike rate of 136.38. The right-hander has gleaned 27 fifties and two centuries in the journey. His best score - a brilliant 132* off just 62 balls - came against his former employers RCB at the Dubai International Stadium in IPL 2020.

His last four years have been particularly phenomenal as he has collected over 600 runs three times with a 50-plus average and a 90-plus best score every season. His strike rate is sub-140 - not up to his potential. But LSG will hope to see his natural, dominating style of cricket.

Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, played his first IPL game almost three years after Rahul's debut in the competition. He hasn't missed a season and has been a Delhi Capitals man through and through. Also unlike KL Rahul, he has spent most of his IPL career in the middle order, playing similarly aggressive cricket but from No. 4 and No. 5 positions.

Interestingly, he has played 84 matches and batted in each of those. The southpaw has 2498 runs to his name, which have come at an average of 35.18 and a strike rate of 147.46. He has hit 15 half-centuries and a sole hundred. His 63-ball unbeaten 128 against SunRisers Hyderabad at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium in 2018 is still considered among the best IPL knocks ever.

IPL 2018 was his best season overall as well, as he collected almost 700 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 173.60. Since then, as his international career has seen a steep rise, his IPL numbers have dipped a bit, with strike rates ranging in low 110s and 120s in the last two seasons and the average being subdued to the low 30s.

Check out the updated IPL point table here.

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KL Rahul vs Rishabh Pant - Who has been the better wickektkeeper in IPL?

As a wicketkeeper, KL Rahul has taken 42 catches and affected five stumpings. Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has 53 catches and an impressive 14 stumpings to his name. But he has kept wickets in a lot more matches than his counterpart.