The Indian Playing XI wicketkeeper position was fiercely contested for the longest time between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. Thanks to his spectacular knocks in Australia, England, and South Africa, Pant became a household name and was predicted to succeed MS Dhoni in every format, with Samson suffering the consequences of his inconsistent play. Former Indian batter Yuvraj Singh backed Rishabh to start as India’s wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rishabh over Samson for Yuvraj
Samson had a chance when Pant was sidelined indefinitely following a near-fatal car accident and was unsure if he would recover in time for the T20 World Cup. He enjoyed his best-ever IPL season, amassing 504 runs. Pant on the other hand scored 446 runs in 13 matches.
“I think Rohit (Sharma) and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal should definitely open,” Yuvraj said. “Virat (Kohli) has been batting at No.3 and that’s his position. And then you get Surya (Yadav) at four, and then you got a couple of big options.
“I’d like to see a couple of left-hand, right-hand combinations because it is harder to bowl at two combinations all the time,” Yuvraj said.
“I’d probably go for Rishabh. Obviously Sanju is also in great form, but Rishabh (is a) left-hander, and I believe that Rishabh has massive potential to win games for India, which he has done in the past,” said Yuvraj.
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Hardik Pandya gets Yuvraj’s backing
The former batter also backed Hardik Pandya to come good despite a forgetful IPL 2024 campaign.
“Well, the good thing is that the selection has been made. (Selectors see) how players have performed at international cricket and then they look at IPL form. Just not the IPL for. I think his bowling is going to be important, and his fitness is going to be important. And I think he might do something really special in this World Cup,” Yuvraj noted.
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