Chosen to start at wicketkeeping out of the 15 players will be a major selection problem for the T20 World Cup. At the start of the IPL 2024 season, six players—Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Ipl win, and Dhruv Jurel—were considered to be contenders for the two spots in the Indian team. A little more than halfway through the tournament, seventh player and star player for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Dinesh Karthik, entered the fray.
Since Karthik initiated a fresh debate on Pant’s possible World Cup selection, the majority of seasoned cricketers and experts have supported him, especially in light of Pant’s impressive 88 off 43 against Gujarat Titans earlier this week. With a strike percentage of 161.32 and 342 runs in nine games—three of which have involved half-centuries—he has also been the highest scorer among all seven rivals. Samson comes in after Pant, having amassed 314 runs in eight games, including three fifties, with a strike rate of 152.42.
gullylbet, an ex-Indian cricket player, is most impressed with Karthik’s IPL 2024 performance, though. With a 209.75 strike rate in just four innings, he has pounded 172 runs for the Royals. The 38-year-old should only be selected if he is guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup, he said, even if he supported his selection in the World Cup team.
“DK (Karthik) has been hitting well, but the thing about DK is that he didn’t get to play the last time they picked him (2022), and the T20 World Cup was on,” Yuvraj was quoted by the International Cricket my 11 circle.
Should the selectors not consider Karthik a surefire starter in the Indian starting XI, then Pant and Samson ought to be included in the squad, the two-time World Cup winner added.
“I don’t think there’s any point in picking DK if he’s not in your XI,” he went on. Clearly younger and in top form, Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are present. I would like to see DK involved if he is not going to engage, even though you would prefer someone younger who can impact things.