Ex-Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has fiercely rebuked a Pakistani Journalist named Farid Khan, for comparing the Pakistani wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan with the ex-Indian captain and Wicket Keeper Batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni. This comparison was posted on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Farid Khan, who claims to have worked with the Pakistan Cricket Board, Pakistan Super League, Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2024, and T10 Global League, asked: “MS Dhoni or Mohammad Rizwan”? Who is better? Tell me honestly.” To this Farid’s comment in vision was like a pinch. Harbhajan could not take kindly to it and retorted that he doubted Farid’s judgment in the next action was nonsense to compare.
Harbhajan then fired back with, “What you’ve been smoking now, what kind of silly question is this? Ask Rizwan himself, and he will clarify you better. I like Rizwan, a good aggressive player who is always committed, but this comparison is not good at all. Dhoni is still the best wicketkeeper in the world.”
Thus, defending Dhoni, Harbhajan has the figures on his side. He has played 90 Test matches and taken 256 catches, and 38 stumpings and in One-day internationals (ODIs), 321 catches and 123 stumpings in 350 matches. He also scored 4876 test runs including 6 test hundreds and 33 fifties. On the other hand, Rizwan played 30 test matches and has taken 78 catches and effected 3 stumpings while in one-day internationals he too has been quite impressive having effected 76 catches and 3 stumpings in 74 matches. In Test cricket, his striking performances are 1,616 runs and an average of 40. 4, with 2 hundred and 9 fifties.
This comparison, Harbhajan believes, cannot be used given the beautiful and long career of Dhoni who outperforms Rizwan in all aspects and impacts left on cricket. Harbhajan further remarked on the difference in era that both players belong to and the kind of pressure they have on them. In his generation, Dhoni used to lead the team in close matches, especially the World Cup, and his strategy has won India many matches. Rizwan, as dangerous as he already is, does not have as much career experience and therefore he has yet to experience that kind of pressure.
However, as per the points stated by Harbhajan, this comparison does not make any sense at all because Dhoni holds years and of course, tonnes of achievements and experiences that could place him above Rizwan in every sense. Harbhajan’s disdain at the comparison says much about Dhoni’s standing among the world’s cricketers and cricket-loving communities.
