Pant, Samson, Rahul, Jitesh Or Kishan, Who'll Be India's Wicketkeeper In T20 WC? Aakash Chopra Discusses

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was left confused with Team India’s choice for the keeper for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. He believes that nobody has the answers to the question of who will be the keeper for the tournament.

The keeper’s spot for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the Indian team is up for grabs. There’s no clarity on who will keep the spot in the team. Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan so far look in contention but one cannot rule out KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.

In the recently concluded Afghanistan T20Is, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson got the opportunity. While the former played two games the latter got an opportunity in the last game and bagged a golden duck. Jitesh played a decent hand in one match but couldn’t set the stage on fire in the second game.

No keeper so far has got continuity in the team and it remains the biggest question who will don the gloves. Ishan Kishan ahead of the series against Afghanistan looked like an obvious choice. But he too has been sidelined and there’s no clarity about it.

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson got opportunities in the Afghanistan series but couldn’t set the stage on fire. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:

“We haven’t got an answer to the question that who would be our keeper. Jitesh Sharma was played the first two matches. After that, Sanju Samson was played a match. Jitesh batted well in the first match, didn’t open his account in the second, and Sanju didn’t open his account in the third.”

If you ask me who would go, I would say I do not know who would go – Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra further said if someone asks him to make the choice, he won’t be able to make out because no one has set the stage on fire. Elaborating on the same, the cricketer-turned-commentator, he stated:

“If you ask me who would go, I would say I do not know who would go. Jitesh hasn’t confirmed his spot, Sanju wasted the one chance he got, Ishan Kishan hasn’t been able to be a part of the race thus far, and they did not pick KL Rahul.”

KL Rahul hasn’t been in the scheme of things since the T20 World Cup 2022. Him making a comeback into the team’s look bleak. The upcoming IPL is likely to give clarity on the same and all the keepers would be eager to display a solid performance. The tournament will be played ahead of the T20 World Cup and current form would be crucial for all the players.

It remains to be seen who will be the two players who make it into the team for the T20 World Cup 2024. The spotlight will be on Jitesh Sharma in particular as he looks like front runner to seal the spot. He has played regularly in the team ahead of some other players.