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Former India cricketer Zaheer Khan cut short the biggest headache around picking the final 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. Instead of dwelling into the debate on whether Rishabh Pant should be picked as the first-choice wicketkeeper and who among Sanju Samson, KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik should take the backup role, the former ODI World Cup winner insisted that India should go into the big tournament with only one wicketkeeper and rather invest the extra slot in picking another seam bowler.
When the IPL 2024 had started on March 22, Jitesh Sharma, who bagged the maximum opportunities in the three preparatory T20I series that India played after the 2023 ODI World Cup, was the frontrunner to bag the wicketkeeping spot. However, there was always an anticipation among world cricket over the return of Pant after 15 months out. And the India star did not just make a comeback to competitive action in IPL 2024, with his unbeaten 88 off 43 against Gujarat Titans earlier this week, he announced himself as the new frontrunner for the keeping position.
With the debate then shifting to the backup role, for which Samson has been backed by most, Zaheer, in conversation with JioCinema, reckoned that while India are spoilt for choices, with even MS Dhoni being a possibility after his phenomenal show in IPL 2024 so far, he would rather opt for a single wicketkeeper.
“Rishabh Pant is my only wicket-keeper. I have given more importance to bringing four pace bowlers. You don’t want to sacrifice a fast bowler for another wicketkeeper. You have options like KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, and many want to see Dinesh Karthik. At this point, we can consider Mahendra Singh Dhoni as well because of his strike rate! I think they’ll focus on current players like Samson, KL Rahul, and maybe even Jitesh Sharma. If you’re building a team for a month-long tournament, your travelling reserve can be your wicketkeeper,” he said.
The most interesting bit about Zaheer’s squad was that he gave that extra slot to Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowler Yash Dayal, who has yet to make a debut in the Indian team. The left-arm seamer from Uttar Pradesh, who was roped in by RCB for INR 5 crores in the auction last year, was earlier handed a fast-bowling contract by the BCCI when the centrally-contracted players were named.
“When I talk about Yash Dayal, it’s a floating spot when the 15 are announced because Mohammed Shami will not be available for the tournament. He’s one bowler that if you need someone to bowl up, you have Yash Dayal. If you want a back-end bowler and if Siraj’s form is spotty, he can be used there as well,” he said.
However, the only dilemma that Zaheer faced was picking the second opener between Gujarat Titans’ captain Shubman Gill and Rajasthan Royals’ opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, which implied that he wishes to see Virat Kohli bat at No. 3 for India.
“The toughest decision the selectors will have to make will be choosing one opener out of two terrific options. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, I think only one of them will make it because the thinktank will want flexibility in the team. A player can’t be limited to just one role, they might need to move around the batting order,” he said.
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh
All-Rounders: Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja
Wicket-Keeper: Rishabh Pant
Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
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