CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress / ITDC News Bhopal: One of the major selection headaches for the T20 World Cup will pertain to picking the two wicketkeeping positions in the 15-member squad. As many as six players – Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel – entered the fray at the start of the IPL 2024 season to grab those two spots in the Indian team. At more than the half-way mark in the ongoing tournament, the battle found a seventh competitor in Dinesh Karthik, who has been in ravishing form down the order for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Despite Karthik sparking a fresh conversation on the possible World Cup squad, Pant has been backed by most veteran cricketers and experts, especially after his unbeaten 88 off 43 against Gujarat Titans earlier this week. Moreover, he has been the leading run-getter among all seven competitors with 342 runs in nine matches, laced with three half-centuries, at a strike rate of 161.32. Pant is followed by Samson, who amassed 314 runs in eight games, comprising three fifties, at a strike rate of 152.42.
However, former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been most impressed with Karthik’s performance in IPL 2024. In just four innings he has clobbered 172 runs at a strike rate of 209.75 for RCB. And while he backed his place in the World Cup squad, he set a condition for the selectors saying that the 38-year-old should only be picked if he is guaranteed a spot in the playing XI.
“DK (Karthik) has been batting well, but the thing with DK is the last time (2022) they picked him and the T20 World Cup was on he didn’t get to play,” Yuvraj was quoted by the ICC.
The two-time World Cup winner added that if the selectors don’t think of Karthik as a surety in the Indian playing XI, then Pant and Samson should be picked in the squad.
“If DK is not in your XI I don’t think there is any point in picking him,” he added. “There is Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson and both guys are in great form and obviously they are younger. I would like to see DK in the mix, but if he is not going to play then you would rather have someone who is younger and can make the difference.”
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his fellow members of the selection committee are all set to reportedly meet the Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday in New Delhi on the sidelines of the ongoing IPL 2024. Rohit is in the capital city for Mumbai Indians’ match against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
Earlier this week, a PTI report indicated that while Pant remains the first-choice keeper for India for the World Cup, KL Rahul has pipped Samson in the race for the back-up slot with selectors feeling that he offers more range of shots than the Rajasthan Royals captain.
