The Indian selectors consider everything that unfolds in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be extremely important. It’s the primary tournament leading up to the highly anticipated T20 World Cup 2024, meaning that strong performances here often secure a place in the national team. Those who excel in the IPL are almost guaranteed a spot, while others are left to contemplate missed opportunities.
Certain players have emerged as the top contenders, while others have fallen behind in the selection hierarchy. Here, in this article, we will discuss the front runners for the position of wicket-keeper batter for the T20 World Cup 2024 for India.
Front-runners – Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan:
Sanju Samson:
Just four games into the season, Sanju Samson seems to be leading the pack.
Samson always starts the IPL season strong. He has an average of 37.63 and a strike rate of 143.7 in the first four games. In 2024, he’s doing even better, scoring 178 runs at a rate of 150.8. He often comes in to bat at crucial moments and has won matches for his team twice already. His form makes him a top choice for India’s wicketkeeper, but he needs to stay consistent.
Rishabh Pant:
Pant has scored 153 runs in five innings this season, with an average of 30.6. His ability to hit boundaries is still strong, as seen when he scored 19 runs against CSK’s best bowler and 28 runs off Venkatesh Iyer in one over. He’s also hit two half-centuries in a row, a first since 2019. Indian fans are excited, especially since there aren’t many left-handed wicketkeepers like him.
Ishan Kishan:
Ishan Kishan last played for India in November 2023. Since then, he only played one match in the DY Patil tournament, scoring 19 runs. His performance in IPL 2024 is crucial. He started with a duck but showed promise in the powerplay in the other two games, scoring 70 runs at a strike rate of 159.1, the best among wicketkeeper-batsmen. He could be India’s backup batter and opener due to his left-handed batting style. To secure his spot, he needs to maintain and improve his strike rate in powerplay overs.
