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BCCI can pick one or at the most two wicketkeeper-batters in the T20 World Cup squad, and it has increasingly become the most hotly-contested spot in the Indian team. When IPL 2024 kicked off, as many as six players – Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel – were in the fray for the positions. Midway through the opening half of the league, three players – Pant, Samson and Ishan – emerged as frontrunners. As the season nears the halfway mark, Dinesh Karthik seems to have thrown his name into the discussion, adding a fresh dimension to the battle. Amid a host of options, former Australia cricketer Rick Ponting gave a blunt verdict on the race.
Speaking to PTI head of Delhi Capitals‘ match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Ponting admitted that while India spoilt for choices when it comes to picking the wicketkeeper-batter for the T20 World Cup, he threw his weight behind Pant.
The DC head coach insisted that with Pant returning to his best in IPL 2024, where he smashed two fifties, he would pick him ahead of any other in-form batters.
“Do I believe whether Rishabh should be there in the World Cup squad? Absolutely I do. He deserves to be in that WT20 squad by the end of the IPL, I think we have seen Rishabh play the way we have seen him play in the last six seasons of IPL and now back playing for India.
“One thing we certainly know is that there is a lot of depth around Indian cricket, with keeper batters and I feel some guys are in really good form at the moment. Kishan is playing well, Samson is playing well and KL Rahul is playing well, there’s a lot of options there but if I was picking a team, I would have Rishabh Pant in it every day of the week,” Ponting said.
When it comes to run-scoring, Samson leads the chart with 276 runs in seven matches in IPL 2024, laced with three fifties, followed by Karthik, who clobbered 83 runs from just 37 balls for RCB in the match against SRH. The veteran India star amassed 226 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 205.45 with two fifties. Pant stands third in the race with his tally of 194 runs in six matches, followed by Ishan, who scored 184 runs in as many games for Mumbai Indians.
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